A Hero's Dream
by TwinGamers011701
Summary: The Hero of Hyrule, and The Princess of Destiny. The paragons of the Hylian race, with the powers of Courage and Wisdom at their side. Together, they were capable of combating any enemy, even the Power of the King of Evil. But when said King calls upon the powers of the Triforce by mistake, with a wish that was never truly desired, how will the two handle the new dangers ahead? AU
1. A New Land

Pain. An old and hated friend.

It coursed through every nerve in my body, like dull, sharp electricity. It made my limbs numb, but painfully clear to my mind, like a vague but sharp image assaulting my senses.

I stood, my legs barely able to support my own weight, as I leaned upon my sword. I could feel it's cold handle upon my side, where the torn fabric and chain mail left no protection upon my skin. It was comforting, in a way, helping me focus on something else, as I resisted the urge to pass out.

Yet, I lifted the sword from the earth, using my own legs to support myself. I nearly buckled from all of the combined weight of my chain mail and tunic, even my shield felt like a bag of rocks. They all weighed me down, as my body almost gave out.

Despite this, I stood tall and strong, glaring at my opponent with a ferocious expression.

I didn't have the privilege to be weak here.

I stared out, across the dead plains that surrounded us. The once lush green fields that all of the citizens of Hyrule enjoyed in times of peace, were ruined from our battle. The wild life, once peaceful and graceful, turned into horrid monsters that held no place in this world. Each of them preying on innocent travelers, and corrupting the very land they stood upon.

Yet, these were not my worries.

Rather, the figure who was responsible for this, who started all of this chaos, was the focus of my gaze.

He rushed me, his figure blurring despite his large size. He reeled back a fist, as dark energy rolled off of his knuckles, forcing a chill down my spine.

I jumped to the side, unable to absorb such an attack with my shield. He predicted this, however, as the large figure gave a huge roundhouse kick, aimed for my neck.

I ducked under the lethal attack, rolling to the side in a way that made me roll around him. As soon as I was on my feet, I jumped and spun in the air, using that momentum as an effective attack.

It was useless though, as he merely stopped my blade with his elbow and knee, trapping me with his strength. Using his free hand, he attempted strike me again, the power behind his fist far beyond the force he could muster in his awkward position.

I moved my right arm to block the blow, using my shield to absorb the force of the blow. Though the shield didn't so much as scratch, I felt myself get launched back by the force of the blow. The impact made my teeth shake, as I felt my already bruised forearm sting in a dull, adrenaline filled rush.

My hand, still gripped tightly onto my sword, pulled the blade out of his grasp. To ensure I at least had a scratch on him, I twisted the blade, cutting into both his elbow and knee.

My enemy cursed, as his gold eyes glared at me in an intense rage. This rage spurred him forward, as his form was covered by dark magic.

As I was still being launched through the air, he suddenly vanished, as if he was never there.

Only to appear above me, his hands linked and ready smash me to the earth. I instinctively placed my shield to my stomach, hoping to negate any damage the attack may bring.

That was unnecessary, however, as a bright light soared through the sky and pierced him in the side.

I glanced to the side, seeing a blurry figure holding a bow, moving closer to the battle we were currently having.

He gasped in agony, as the energy of the arrow in his side coursed through his body. The pain was so horrible, he actually forgot to strike me while I was vulnerable.

But I didn't.

While I flew through the air, I placed my shield on my back and only thought of what I needed.

As if it was always there, my Longshot appeared in my hand, trained upon my enemy. As I pulled the trigger within the device, the sharpened end shot forward like an arrow, piercing into the man's ribs.

My arm jerked, as the chain connecting the base and the anchor pulled me towards him. As I sailed towards him, my boots changed, becoming heavier, as my body rammed into him.

I felt my bones strain, as my speed and added weight forced my enemy's lungs to release all of their air. As we sailed across the air, I ripped the anchor out of him, watching with gross fascination as it healed instantly.

As we both fell to the ground, the light energy still flowing through his every pore, I attacked him. Lifting my blade, I stabbed down at him, aiming for his chest. However, he merely shifted to the side, forcing my pierce through his side with ease.

That, was when his enemy finally expelled all of the light energy in his body.

I felt the the incredibly tight grip around my neck before I saw him grab me, choking all the life out of me with ease. The horrid hand wrapped around my throat with ease, as he pulled my sword out of his side….

And turned me around, my back facing the earth, with his cold, murderous golden eyes searing into my very soul.

I tried to remain relaxed as I hit the ground, in a vain attempt to lessen the damage, but it was no use. As soon as I saw the ground coming up from behind me, I tensed and struggled against my enemy's grip.

Which only brought a sadistic smile to his enemies face, as he watched me struggle against his grip.

The impact came, and despite the grip blocking anything from coming in and out of my lungs, I felt blood rise in my throat. My shield absorbed most of the impact, but it wasn't enough, as my ears perceived the distinct sound of bone cracking.

I screamed in pain, but the powerful fist stopped any chance of sound escaping my throat. My enemy, still forcing my form to the ground, took pleasure in all of my attempted screams of agony.

I grabbed at his large hand, attempting to pull the fingers off for any chance of a breath. Yet, he held tight, as he lifted me in the air, slowly constricting his hand on my neck, bringing it close to snapping.

I swung my sword in an attempt to cut him, to force him to release me. He merely held me far from his form, leaving me unable to cut him.

If the choking wasn't, I could feel the searing power of his dark magic burn my skin. The combination of the searing pain and crushing grip caused black spots to appear in my eyes.

It would've been so easy to pass out than and there. So easy to just let him unconsciously choke me to death, and drift off to the end.

But, I always had a problem with giving up.

Despite all of the pain, and the lack of air, I glared back at the man choking me to death. I remained silent, giving him no pleasure in slowly torturing me till the end.

The effect was instant. It was as if my glare had flipped a switch in his mind, as the light of glee in his eyes turned into bitter resentment. He glared back at me, as that resentment turned into full-blown rage.

The grip grew tighter, almost snapping my neck in half. Yet, I made no sound, even as my vision began to black out, the world slowly disappearing. Except…

For the sound of an arrow piercing through flesh.

"AUGHH!" My opponent shouted out in agony, as I felt his grip loosened around my neck. I dropped to the ground, enjoying the burning of fresh air in my lungs. My eyes cleared, letting me see perfectly the agony my opponent was in, as well as the woman who fired that arrow.

Despite my instincts telling me to rest and get my breath, I full heartedly ignored them. Gripping my sword tight, I plunged my blade forward, with awkward steps and heavy arms.

The end of my blade pierced into his stomach, as the sickening sound of tearing flesh reached my sensitive ears. It meet resistance in the form of his stomach, but I used all of my strength to pierce that too, despite the weight of my arms. When my blade finally reached his spine, that is when my arms gave up, as I merely leaned on my blade, still in him.

However, that was enough for a complete failure.

I felt a fist strike the side of my head in what must've been concussive force, as the once clear world blurred beyond comprehension. I could feel movement, as I crashed into something, and watched as the world spun around me in a sickening haze. I felt like I was about to throw up, and my legs and arms didn't feel like they existed.

It seemed like ages, as I just laid there in the hard, cold dirt. I tried everything, just to move a finger, or perhaps stand up, but to no avail. My body was overworked, and every muscle screamed for me to just stop trying.

"L-nk!" I heard a fragmented, far away voice, like an angel that had been sent from heaven. I saw a blurry outline of a person standing above me, and felt them grab my neck, and looking down at me with beautiful blue eyes. "H-g -n! I'-l ge- y- fi-d -p!" With that said, the blurry figure grabbed at my side pouch, searching through its contents. "W-er- i- t-at p-ti-n!?"

I simply stared at the figure, my mind and memories simply hazy as I tried to decipher her words. I tried to do something, anything to help with whatever she was doing, but my body refused to move, no matter how hard I tried.

Yet, my senses still worked, no matter how stunted they were in my current state.

Which is why I heard the heavy sounds of footsteps, before I even saw the figure appear above her.

"L-look o-!"

Before I could even finish my slurred warning, she instantly placed a powerful blue magic shield around us, as our enemy attempted to grab her. I could feel his heated glare, as the woman above me concentrated on finding what she was looking for.

He struck the blue barrier, as I actually felt the woman buckle ever so slightly, but still continued her search. Despite the ineffectiveness of his strike on the barrier, he kept attacking the shield, weakening it with every hit.

She finally seemed to discover what she was looking for, as she attempted to bring a thick blue liquid to my lip. Yet, the figure above us glared as he saw what was in her hand, as he pulled back his hand, covered in powerful dark magic.

The fist, covered in magic, shattered the barrier like glass, as he reached through and grabbed the woman's head with an iron grip. He pulled her up into the air, as the woman used every magic in her arsenal to attempt to force him to let her go.

Fire and light, the only offense spells she knew, were already powerful on their own. Capable of harming any enemy she would ever have to face. But with Wisdom, her magic grew exponentially stronger, far beyond a normal Mage's comprehension.

Yet, it wouldn't make a difference.

As she tried to get him to let go, my efforts to stand grew exponentially higher. I was slowly standing myself up, trying to help the woman who was doing the same for me.

As I slowly stood myself up, I watched as the figure simply smiled, and plucked the bottle from her grip like it was an apple on a tree. The magic was doing nothing to him, no matter how much power she used, or how much she tried. Than, adding insult to injury…

He crushed the bottle, as the life saving liquid dripped down his arms.

"I must say, Princess." He began, his voice deep and filled with an otherworldly power and god-like confidence. My sword, still in my grip was stabbed into the ground, as I attempted to use it as a crutch to pull myself up. "Your power certainly has grown since the last time we met. I might even go as far as to say I'm impressed."

She ignored him, as kept trying to cast magic in any attempt to defeat him. Yet, nothing worked, no matter what spell she used.

"Save your magic, girl." He said with an annoyed tone, as his grip tightened on her skull. She gritted her teeth in pain, resisting a scream, yet her magic never ceased assaulting the large man's form. "Do not waste your gift for such a fruitless resistance. You can try to slay me all you want, but you can never accomplish such a task. Though you are one of the few people who can seal me away, only one weapon can ever hope to end my life."

"Isn't that right, Hero?"

Before I even knew what was happening, my sword was kicked out from under me, as I fell harshly to the dirt. As my face was crushed by my own weight, I heard a snap, as I felt the mind numbing pain of a broken nose. Yet, despite this pain, I still tried to stand myself up, and save her from his grasp.

"Pathetic." He spat, as I could feel the intense heat of his gaze upon the back of my head, as if it were trying to burn me. He slammed his foot onto my back, forcing me to the ground, as I started all over again. "Still resisting, are you? Still trying to win this little game of ours?"

I shook my head, still trying to raise myself up, even though my limbs felt like lead, and my eyes swam. I heard the tightening of a fist, as the intense gaze only grew

"You really are just like _them_, unable to understand when you are beaten!"

I felt his steel tipped boots kick me in the stomach, as bile and blood collected in my mouth. I rolled across the dead fields, before stopping on my side with a large bruise on my midsection.

Still, despite the pain I was in, I continued to try and stand. Though my hand still gripped onto my sword, I actually made it to my knees, once again using my blade as a crutch.

I glared up at my enemy, as his golden eyes burned with an incredible rage. Dark magic collected around him like a blanket, as if it were a thin skin surrounding him.

"Not that I would expect any less from you fools." He growled out hatefully, his voice holding a presence beyond what any normal person should have.

He suddenly disappeared, as if he had just blinked out of existence. Yet, my instincts told me otherwise, as I rolled out of the way of a powerful axe kick. The kick shattered the earth below me with ease, as I quickly stood to face my enemy, shield and sword in hand.

"You wish to die, Hero?" He asked me, as he held her in his grip, limp and unmoving. "You wish to face me in combat, and end my reign over what I have rightfully taken?"

Yet, as he spoke, there was only one thing on my mind. My rage, which was usually kept in check, was leaking out in a snarl.

"Let her go." I told him slowly in a low voice, as I gritted my teeth in an attempt to calm myself down.

He quirked an eyebrow, as he seemed actually confused for a second….

That is, before he gave me a vicious grin, as if he had just stumbled upon the best gift in the world.

"You always were sensitive about her, Hero." He spoke slowly, taking the time to enjoy every second of himself speaking. "Always willing to do anything to protect her from my clutches, even at the cost of yourself. I've used her against you countless times, but you always fall for my traps. Always showing up, and giving me exactly what I want."

His grin grew, as if he had came across an hilarious joke. But it was darker than that, more sinister, like a cave he would never travel down.

As he slowly lifted her up in the air….

And squeezed agonizingly slow.

"AUGHHHHHHHHHHH!"

She screamed to the heavens, her pain ringing throughout the fields of Hyrule. She writhed in his grip, attempting to do anything to escape the pain she was being forced under. All while tears leaked down her face….

Shattering my heart, and fueling my burning rage.

"It is such a shame." He continued speaking over her cries, while he simply watched me with a cheeky grin. "She would make such a beautiful Queen to my rule. I could give her fabrics woven by the Goddesses themselves, Grand feasts made by the greatest chefs in the world, and a peaceful rule to last eternity. Yet, she refuses to accept what I could give to her, to her people, to her kingdom."

His grip tightened, as she cried louder, the pain coursing through her torturing me with every second it continued.

"Stop it!" I cried, as I rushed him, intent on ending his life than and there.

Yet, his grin just grew, as if this was exactly what he wanted.

So, as I lifted my blade, I struck down with all of my fury…

As he simply moved her in my way.

My eyes widened, as I quickly stopped the motion of my blade from cleaving her in two. I managed to stop it only an inch from her skin, as I took a step back in hesitation.

Which, he promptly used to his own advantage.

I felt him kick my side of my chest, using my hesitation as a weapon against me, as I heard something shatter upon impact.

Once again, the taste of iron assaulted my tongue, as I was launched across the field, stopping some feet away. I grabbed at my side, feeling my own shattered ribs, while biting down a pained gasp.

"But I wonder…Do I even need a Queen who is unfaithful?" He asked rhetorically, as I slowly stood myself up, spitting out the blood in my mouth to the side. "She would always attempt to defy me, trying to find a way to end my rule. I cannot be everywhere, and her attempts will become annoying before long. So…"

"AUGGHHHHHHH!" She cried out in his grip, as blood started to drip down her face.

"Why not just end her life here?" He asked simply, as his grin turned almost demonic. All while I felt my own heart stop in its tracks at what he was saying.

Before it burned with an incredibly powerful rage.

"You bastard!"

I didn't hesitate, as I simply pictured the other pair of boots I have. Instantly, I was wearing those boots, as I felt the similar but different weight on my feet. As soon as my feet touched the ground, I was running faster than the eye could track, at the extreme cost of my own stamina.

Before he even realized what was happening, I jumped high in the air, flipping over him for a bastardized Helm Splitter. Yet, the gem on his forehead protected him from most of the damage.

Removing the boots, I put my normal ones on and proceeded to cut his back. He gasped, as I felt the blade move through flesh with ease, before he turned to strike me down.

My shield was in the way though, as it absorbed the force of the attack with ease. My forearm, however, still took quite a bit of force, as it finally shattered my bones.

Dismissing the shield into my magic pouch, as it would be useless to me without an arm to use it, I ignored the pain. Instead, I focused on attacking the King of Evil, making sure to avoid hitting her on accident.

It sunk into his left arm, right through his own forearm, causing him to growl in pain. Gritting his teeth, he struck me in my side, as I felt my already shattered ribs echo as they struck my lungs.

Unable to grab at my side without an available hand, I fought on! I pulled my sword out of his firearm, back up with a quick flip as he tried a leg sweep.

I successfully dodged, as I deflected an attack with my blade, which forced my teeth to chatter. Despite that, my blade cut through air and flesh, as it pierced through his leg.

He kneeled, his leg unable to support his body, as I quickly cut at his wrist, as bone stopped my blade in its tracks. The cut was enough though, as he released her, as she feel to the ground like a rag doll.

I moved to grab her, and quickly tried to put on my Pegasus Boots to escape, giving us a few seconds to heal.

Yet, it wasn't to be.

I felt him strike my unarmored thigh, bruising the muscle and almost shattering the bone. I quickly fell into a miserable pile, as I grit my teeth and tightened my grip on my sword.

He panted slowly, as he struggled to stand from all of the cuts I had given him. Yet, even though he stood, bloodied and gasping, he laughed. A horrid sound that echoed through my skull, taunting me every second I heard it.

"I must admit…" He gasped, as I turned to glare up at his golden eyes. "You surprised me, Hero." He told me honestly as he walked up to me, as I lay on the ground. "It has been a long time since I've seen one of you react in such a way."

'_One of…. me?' _ I thought to myself, trying to interpret what he was saying. In fact, since the battle started, he was referring as if we… if we had fought before. But… that was impossible.

For the past two years, I have been trying to avoid him, with her by my side. I couldn't have fought him before today, not without this sword, or the aid of the Sages!

"Ahh…." He let out a breath of understanding, as he leaned forward to lift me up with his left hand. I felt the tight grip on my skull, as his finger nails easily dug into my skin.. "So you don't know…. how unfortunate."

He lifted me to his eye level, as his eyes seemed to search through mine. Despite the pain pounding against my skull I glared at him, staring into the demonic gold eyes. Yet, as he stared at me, I could see his rage building.

"Those damn eyes…." He whispered under his breath, as my sensitive hearing easily heard his words. "No matter how much you change, they always stay the same. Defying me at every possible moment, like an annoying itch in the back of my skull."

I quirked an eyebrow, not quite understanding what he was saying. What could he be talking about? Yet, before I could truly finish my train of thought…

I heard the tightening of a bow string, along with a flash of powerful magic.

He clicked his tongue, as my eyes snapped towards the origin of the sound. There, I saw her aiming her bow at him, before releasing the arrow.

The arrow of pure light magic seemed to move in slow motion, crossing the distance between it and it's target in a flash. It was closed, almost piercing through his eye, with it's incredibly powerful magic burning my eyes.

Yet, it was all for nothing.

Just as quickly, the world seemed to blink into total darkness, as an irrational fear rose up inside me. No light was anywhere to be seen, and it seemed to squeezed me with enough force to make my ribs ache.

But as soon as the darkness appeared, it disappeared, leaving my world blindingly bright.

"A foolish decision, girl." He spoke simply, as I found myself right behind her, still in his grip.

She turned around, drawing another arrow onto her bow as quickly as she could. Yet, he was faster, as he merely grabbed the bow…

And snapped it in two.

With the string pulled taunt, and the bow snapped, the limbs shot towards her. They stuck her forehead, as well as her leg, leaving her dazed and confused. Though her arms kept her steady, she almost collapsed, unable to take the surprise blow to the head.

So, there we stood, seemingly defeated by the hands of the Evil King. He looked down at the both of us, contempt filling his eyes at our broken forms.

"Look at yourselves…. Broken and beaten, gasping for air."

As he said this, he grabbed the prone Princess, once again gripping her skull, as she tried to resist his strength.

"Why is it that you two always work against me?" He asked the both of us honestly, as I merely held a tight grip upon my sword. "It is pointless. I am a plague that will forever haunt the lands of Hyrule! You may stop me now, but I will only return to spill blood once again! That is how it will always be!"

Those words echoed across the still, dead plains, as I merely glared at him. I felt a pull from my left hand, as something resonates deep within me.

I pushed that feeling back, merely glaring at the man before me, I felt a similar heated glance at my side, agreeing with my silent answer.

"And still you resist?" He asked us, as if he was almost pleased by the prospect of torturing us further. "With what purpose!? What do you gain from resisting my power?!"

"I…. will not… let you!" She squeezed through gritted teeth, speaking in quick breaths, as she gasped from pain. "I will not… let you torture my people… for your sick fantasies!"

"Your people?" He grinned , as his grip tightened even further around both of our skulls. "They are _my _people now Princess. They only suffer because they resist my rule, just as you suffer now. If you would all just give up, then you could all live as you ple-"

"Do not try to tempt us with your lies!" She shouted, as she grabbed his arm and activated her Light Magic, burning his skin with ease. Yet, the skin grew back as if nothing affected it, all because of the Power he wielded. "I have seen your deeds through the history of my people, and it speaks of nothing but death, greed, and failure! You wish for the Ultimate Power to satisfy your need for destruction and strength! You take pleasure in the fields you burn and the people you destroy! Hyrule will be the first Kingdom to fall if we give you your way, and I will n-"

"Silence girl!" He shouted at her, his power forcing a chill down our spines as if ice were forced down them. With that shout, he tightened his grip upon her skull, as I could almost hear it fracture. Despite this, she refused to scream, biting her lip until it drew blood.

"As if I would let this mighty Kingdom fall between my fingers. I am the King of Thieves, he who stole from the Goddesses themselves! I refuse to let this land, this gem of the Goddesses be taken from me! With the Power of the Triforce at my side, this kingdom will live on forever in MY GRASP!"

He spoke with a mighty rage, coupled with a sense of entitlement, as if this Kingdom was his to rule. Yet, to me…

All I could sense was pure Malice, as if it were attempting to choke the land of life itself. A familiar feeling that welled up inside, as one sentence reverbeted in my mind. As if it was something I had said before….

"You yourself will let it slip away from you…"

It came out as a whisper, barely an audible sound, but present nonetheless. The King of Evil looked at me with wide eyes, as if he had heard this before from his darkest nightmares. If I were in my right mind, I would contemplate the nightmares of the Evil King, but I had no such pleasure.

His grip tightened around my skull like a vice, purposefully letting it teter on the edge of shattering my skull.

"Even now, from beyond the veil of Death…" He whispered softly to himself, as his magic formed around him like a cloak, one that promised me pain and death. "I am Ganondorf… The King of Evil, the Calamity of Hyrule, the Bane of Creation itself…. And still… _Those…. __**Children **__Mock __**ME**__!"_

Power forcefully flowed through me, burning through my veins and destroying me from the inside. From my left, I could hear the Princess try to hold back a cry of pain, no doubt going through exactly what I was going through.

"Fine then…" He spoke quietly with gritted teeth, his tone holding a lethal edge that could only be promising one thing…

Death.

The power forced through my body grew infinitely worse, as I could almost smell smoke coming off of my skin. Yet, it was far worse than any burn I had received from Death Mountain, and stabbed deeper than any blade.

"I pity you two fools…" He told us with a sick grin, enjoying every second of our writhing agony. "You will not see what comes after your death…. The world that I will create. It will be far better than this one or the next. For it will be MY world." He laughed, as he gripped our skulls tighter, and forced more of his own power through us.

"No…." I heard her cry, as she continued to try and struggle further, in any attempt to save this world. I myself tried to cut him, but my arms were spasming, taking all of my concentration just to hold onto my blade.

"Do not fret, Prince- No, _Zelda." _ He told her with a hushed voice, as he antagonized her with his laugh. "There is no need to fear death… You will come back, whether it be after a hundred or even thousands of years. For that is our curse."

"Yet, you will no longer be born to fear the coming of the end...For _our _Kingdom will live in eternal peace."

His words only caused her to struggle more, as she did everything she could to escape his grasp.

To no avail.

"You do not believe my words?" He asked her, as I tried to use all of my power to do something, _anything!_ "Then I promise this to you, and your _Hero_." He told us mockingly….

As my left hand thrummed with power…..

"On this day, the beginning of my eternal rule, I promise the Hero of Hyrule and the Princess of Destiny this!" He began, grinning towards the sky, as if mocking the Goddesses themselves. "This world, filled with the weak and the foolish, shall be no longer be tolerated! I shall bring us to a new age, a new world! A world where strength is all that is important! Where the foolish will earn their right to live through the blood of their enemies, in constant battle! Where those wise enough to bow to one such as I will live as kings, and rule as their almighty god! A World fit for I, the Demon King, Ganondorf!"

With these words spoken, he laughed towards the clouded sky, as this cruel sound echoed across the land. A chill was forced down my spine, as my vision slowly blurred...

And my left hand shined and burned like the sun.

The pain from the King of Evil seemed to evaporate, as the burn spread throughout my body. I expected to feel pain as the two powers combined, but it was actually… light. Like feathers gently caressing my skin.

I felt almost all of my strength leave my body, as it was hard to even hold onto my blade. The pain from my wounds were gone, the sensation of weight was absent, and even the taste of blood is no more.

I wasn't the only one, as the King of Evil dropped us to the ground, and grabbed the back of his own right hand. The mighty man, capable of destroying castles with ease, fell to the ground. No doubt feeling the same absence of sensation as I was.

I turned to her next to me, making sure she was okay while I ignored my own pain.

She too was grabbing at her hand, grimacing as much as the both of us. She tried to look down at her own hand…

But only saw the light of the Triforce, as her arm was merely a pure light given shape.

'_W-what's going o-!?' _I thought to myself, as I looked down at my left hand, seeing exactly what I saw with her. My sword was still in my grasp, but just like my hand, was turning into what could only be pure light.

All as the symbol of the Triforce of Courage glowed with a far more blinding light.

I felt it in my bones, and my gut before I came to an actual conclusion.

Something was terribly wrong.

"D-Damn you…." I heard him say from my side, as I could only look down at my hand. "What have you done!"

I simply shook my head, as I had no idea what was going on. Even she didn't seem to know what was happening, if her confused stare was anything to go by.

Yet, our Triforce pieces continued to glow brighter, almost blinding me with it's holy light.

I gripped the handle of my sword, as it's comforting weight seemed to move further and further away. The blade seemed to hum, as I was reminded of what I was supposed to do.

Before I was totally blinded by the light, I raised my blade. This was my best shot, and it was something I couldn't waste.

So, while we were all blinded and unable to make sense of our surroundings…

I stabbed Ganondorf, The King of Evil….

Before everything disappeared within the light, and seemed to float away.

* * *

_**Prologue**_

_**It's Dangerous to go Alone...**_

* * *

My eyelids were unnaturally heavy.

It was strange how that was the first thing I noticed, as everything in my body felt as if it were torn apart and put back together again haphazardly.

My muscles ached as if they had been beaten thoroughly with a laundry pole, and my very soul felt heavy and immovable. Like a large Goron, sitting upon the top of my chest, all curled up and comfortable. My hearing, usually able to make out the barest of sounds, felt as if they were blocked by two large boulders. My breathing, which usually came with ease, took the strength of ten men just to get a gasp.

I swallowed, feeling the pooling spit in my mouth get absorbed back into my body, taking off some of the burden that I felt. Though, it was nowhere near enough to get rid of this weight that I felt, it certainly made it easier to open my eyes.

An action I quickly regretted, as the light seemed too much for my eyes, instantly blinding me. I quickly closed them once again, unable to take the combined pain of the light and my very own body. I tired to move my right hand to rub my eyes, hoping to alleviate some of the pain settling in my eyes.

That was a mistake though, as I had forgotten the fact the my right arm was broken.

I let out an involuntary gasp, as pain coursed through my every nerve and pore. It was as if lightning had struck my brain, as I carefully dropped my arm back down to the ground.

Luckily, it seemed that this sudden pain was enough to restart my brain, letting my once cloudy senses sharpen to a fine point. As I slowly let my eyes open, letting them get used to the bright light, I let my hearing roam. Soaking in information that I could grasp to determine where I was.

My only clues, however, was the mere sound of a gentle breeze, and a few leaves.

I finally opened my eyes fully, finding myself staring directly at the setting sun. I was laying face down on the dirt, as I realized the weight on my chest was my own weight.

Realizing this, I attempted to roll myself over and relieve the pressure on my chest. However, before I could even attempt to do this, I realized I already had a problem. Two problems, actually.

One, I couldn't use my right arm, as it wouldn't support weight anytime soon.

Two, Since I could only use my left arm…

I would have to roll over my right arm.

I sighed at that thought, as I attempted to think of a different idea, one that wouldn't cause unnecessary pain. I could probably lift myself up with my one arm, but my legs shook at the very thought of just getting up.

That, however, was the plan at the moment, as I was finally starting to feel my ribs. I groaned again, as I felt the pain from my broken ribs stabbing me in the side with every breath. It certainly didn't help that my weight was focused entirely on my chest, elevating the pain I was currently in.

Motivated by the wish to stop any further pain, I began to lift myself up with my left hand. I was incredibly slow though, as all of my muscles were sore and wanted to give out from under me.

Despite that though, I was eventually able to reach a sitting position. There, I took a simple look at my surroundings, trying to find any sort of landmark to pinpoint my location.

I was in a forest, already giving me a clue as to where I was in Hyrule. The grass and the leaves were as green as emeralds, giving a nice contrast to the setting sun. The trees around me were tall, reaching up to the sky as if racing for the last bits of the sun's rays. It was quite a beautiful sight to be sure…

But as I looked at the wood and the height of these trees, I discovered a pretty big problem.

These trees were too young. Far too young.

I gazed upon the trees once again, making sure my eyes weren't deceiving me. Yet, as I looked closer, my discovery only solidified into pure hard fact.

These were not the trees of Kokiri Forest, the only forest in Hyrule to have this kind of tree concentrations. Which meant that this wasn't Kokiri Forest, or Hyrule in fact.

Meaning that I was in an entirely different Country.

My mind slowed to a crawl, as I simply tried to accept this fact. It wasn't all that difficult, actually, as I was pretty sure there was some magic that could teleport people halfway across the world.

I sighed, letting out all of the building anxiety, and calmly analyzing the situation. This was no time to panic, I told myself simply, as I simply sat and stared at the setting sun.

Hyrule was one of the most prosperous Kingdom out of all the Kingdoms. Getting directions would be a simple task, and following them even simpler.

Right now, I needed to heal myself, as I could already feel my scabbed over wounds being pulled with my every movement. Though it wouldn't heal everything, a Blue Potion should be enough to heal most (if not all) of my open wounds. My bones will take quite some time after that, but it should be enough to simply walk.

I moved to grab at a pouch at my side, which should be carrying a potion for me to use. However, as I grabbed at it, that pocket was completely empty.

"What the…." I spoke up, my voice softer than normal and barely comprehensible to my own ears. I didn't realize how dry my tongue was until I actually tried to speak. I must be more out of it than I thought, if I didn't have enough energy to speak properly.

But where was the potion?

It was only than that I realized that the same potion I was looking for had actually been destroyed by Ganondorf.

I sighed once again, realizing I was now down to only five Empty Bottles. Now I had less room to safely carry certain items, as my magic pouch can't carry certain items without them. It was a good thing that potion was only there for emergencies, in case Zelda needed something to immediately heal me when I couldn't…. grab….

Zelda….. ! Zelda!

I felt my eyes widen, as my muscles immediately stiffened as she came to mind. How could I have forgotten!? Whatever was used to teleport me off of the continent must have teleported her too! She could be in danger, and I'm sitting here enjoying the sunset!

Despite my sore and weak muscles, I attempted to stand, quickly getting up on one knee. However, even that seemed too much, as I almost collapsed just attempting that.

This only proved further that I needed to heal, as I quickly sat back down to regain my energy. I couldn't just go hobbling around these unknown woods looking for her. I needed a plan…

And first on that list was to heal.

My emergency bottle was destroyed, giving me no way to heal on hand at the time. But that was no problem, as I had two other potions just like it.

In my magic pouch, that is.

Upon the start of my adventure, I was given a rare and ancient pouch that could hold any number of weapons inside by Zelda herself. Supposedly, it was used by all of the previous Heroes of Hyrule, making it almost akin to a religious artifact. It was honestly one of the most useful magic items I had, as I could hold almost any number of items inside with ease.

According to her though, it was actually scary how quickly I could use it, as thousands of people considered geniuses in the magic world had tried and failed incredibly. It was why it was only ever given to the Heroes, as only they could master the use of the Magic Pouch with ease. It is effectively the only magic I had mastered that Zelda couldn't, even though it was pretty simple to use.

Any item I place inside the bag will be sent to this sort of alternate storage space that no one could get into. There, it couldn't be accessed, and nothing would spoil or rust within its confines. In fact, only the person who placed the item inside could take things out, and not through any traditional methods.

See, though the pouch was a physical object, it isn't used to take things out, perhaps in some attempt to stop thieves from taking anything . It's magic allowed the user to instantly take out an item on the spot just by thinking about said item. It was highly convenient, and the reverse was true as well, as I could send any object in my hand back into the pouch, as long as it has already been placed inside.

It took quite a bit of practice to master though, as I had to have a clear image of what was in my pouch. Luckily, I was good at that kind of thing, giving me a clear advantage when using it. It became so easy that I could actually look into it as an image in the back of my head.

So, as I sat there on the cool grass, I began to picture it in my head. A clear bottle, with a brown cork, filled nearly to the brim with blue potion. It was an easy thing to recall, compared to some of the more complicated weapons I had in my bag.

With the picture clear in my head, I imagined the bottle leaving the storage space, and appearing in my hand. It was something that I had done thousands of times before, to the point where it was as easy as breathing.

Which was why it came as such a shock when absolutely nothing happened.

I quirked an eyebrow, staring down at my hands to make sure what I was seeing was correct. As soon as I did, I tried again, only this time, I was focusing harder.

Nothing.

I felt a bit of panic seep into my heart, as my empty hand seemed to be laughing at me. I tried everything, every weapon I had, and every piece of equipment I could need.

Nothing.

I tried focusing even harder, calling out the names of the items, actually imagining myself using them.

Absolutely nothing.

That was when real panic started to set in.

I quickly focused on the storage space in the back of my mind, trying to see if there was any explanation. Only to understand immediately as I saw the state of it.

Where there was once a still, perfect image of an area holding all of my items, was now a mess. It was as if his storage was blurred beyond comprehension, was spinning at high speeds, as it moved in random directions inside my head.

My heart was beating a mile per minute, and I could feel sweat pooling on my forehead. All of my weapons, all of my food, my camping set, and even my medical equipment.

Gone.

I could feel my breath getting heavier, as I ignored the pain in my ribs, too panicked to even notice. My arms felt unbearably heavy, and my eyes darted around without my say so. My tongue seemed too big for my mouth, and I could barely move an inch.

I had no way to fight, no way to take care of the wounds which needed treatment. All I had was the tunic on my back and my two hands. The worst possible outcome.

And it was at that moment, that the sun finally decided to disappear on the horizon.

The sheer panic got even worse, as the darkness assaulted my sense like a punch to the face. Soon it would be pitch black, and any number of Demons could come out and attack. With no way to heal myself, it would be dangerous to stick around for long.

I hesitatingly stood myself up, my legs finally having enough strength to support my weight. Though, it would be hard to walk without any other support, I tried to anyway.

Much like before, I almost collapsed under my own weight, my legs like Chu-Chu jelly.

I instantly went to grab my sword, willing to use it's length as a much needed walking stick. I would have used a stick, but I couldn't find any near my person.

Yet, as I reached to grab the handle of my sword….

My hand only closed around air, as for the second time that day, I panicked.

I quickly looked over my shoulder, seeing nothing but air inside my empty sheath. I quickly looked around, my eyes wide and filled with pure terror.

My sword was gone.

A cold hand seemed to grab my heart, forcing it to beat faster than ever before. My equipment and weapons, I could live without until I found civilization.

My sword?

I would be a goner.

I searched around where I woken up, hoping to find some clue as to where it was. Slowly, as my body couldn't yet handle the strain of moving to fast, I searched through every inch.

Though it felt like hours had gone by, I kept searching, giving myself a wider area to look for my weapon…

To no avail.

I gasped for air, the simple act of searching making me realize just how hungry I was. My dry mouth became more apparent, as my knees slammed into the dirt.

The cold hand grew ever tighter, making me feel like a small animal. Usually, I could handle the cold grip of panic easily, as I had trained myself to forge that panic into focus.

But it was all building up way too fast.

My fight with Ganondorf, my near death experience, my lack of food and water, my hazy mind, my worry for Zelda, my total vulnerability? Each was a huge thing on it's own, but all together!?

It was enough to make any man curl up and wait for death. I myself almost felt like throwing up, but I swallowed the bile, as my throat burned.

What had I come to? The Hero of Hyrule, the only person capable of slaying the King of Evil, who faced countless trials to get this far…

Alone and afraid, practically jumping at the sight of my own shadow. Desperate enough…

"Where are you…."

To be begging for an answer from something that couldn't possibly give one.

My hands hit the dirt, as I looked to the ground, almost heaving with every breath. I could feel the wound at my side tear at the sudden movement, as agonizing pain ripped through my body. I felt blood leak through my chainmail and tunic, giving the green fabric more dark red patches across it.

I cursed my luck, as I forced pressure on my wound, trying to stop the flow of blood with gritted teeth. If my stumbling and loud footsteps didn't attract Demons to my location, than my blood definitely will.

I needed to move. Fast.

Taking a second for rest, I slowly stood myself up, making sure to be especially careful with my now open wound. I would need to keep pressure on it as I moved, so I'll need to create some of my own bandages using leaves. Hopefully these trees weren't too different from the ones in Hyrule, as I wouldn't want poisonous leaves on my wounds.

So, I slowly moved away, trying to find any sort of walking stick that I could use as a weapon. It would be better than absolutely nothing, and I would also need help to set my broken arm in p-

_M…._

_**Twilight Princess: Sacred Grove**_

I paused, as the wind blew past my ear, creating a…. Strangely familiar voice. A warm tingle moved up my, as I tensed from the sound of the voice. As quickly as my body would allow, I turned and looked through the trees, searching with a powerful gaze.

Yet, my eyes could see nothing but the green grass and trees, stained with my own blood. Despite this, I continued to stare at the forest, as I searched through the trees. Yet, only the wind, leaves and trees seemed to be making a hint sound.

However, as I was about to give up, I saw something just outside of my vision, that almost stopped my heart. Not out of fear, but rather….

I turned my gaze straight towards what I had seen, trying to identify who this person was. Yet, something inside of me told me I already knew what it was.

A figure stood some ways a way, deep in the dark forest surrounding us, no distinguishing feature about them save for a vague outline. I felt my eyes grow misty, but I made no to rub them, as a deep primal fear told me that if I did, they wou-

She disappeared behind a tree in a blink of an eye, like a ghost within the mist.

"Wait!" I cried out automatically, as I began to give chase to the mysterious figure within the forest. Though, giving chase was pushing it, as I was barely hobbling as fast as I could walk.

I moved as fast as I could, following the direction of this strange figure in the woods. I rounded towards the same tree she disappeared behind, as I once again saw her vague figure. I moved through bushes, despite my injuries, and every once in a while I would have to lean on a tree to catch my breath.

I damned my current condition, as I looked back at my pitiful excuse of a chase. Already five minutes of this pace, and I could still see where I had started, barely forty feet away! By this point, I wouldn't be so shocked if she was gone for good by now.

As my breathing slowly calmed down, I was tempted to just go back the way I came, hoping to find some form of shelter for the night. Yet, once again, as I turned around…

_M…...a…_

I turned once again, as a voice carried by the wind reached my ears. I looked through each tree, trying to locate who was speaking, and what they were saying. Yet, all I saw was a quickly hidden figure, moving through the trees with.

The same figure I saw before.

I felt my eyebrow quirk at the sight, figuring she had already left by now. As I turned my body to face her, I tried to get a better look, attempting to identify her.

But, just as she did before, she quickly disappeared behind a tree.

I hesitated ever so slightly, trying to figure out if this was some sort of trick. Perhaps it was some form of demon, tricking me into going into it's den while I was weak. Or perhaps it was a spirit of the forest, bent on tricking me and forcing me to stay until I wither away.

And yet…. This feeling was too genuine to be a trick. No sooner did I make that observation, did my legs move towards the figure disappearing form.

I gave chase for quite a while, my already weak legs getting weaker with each hurried step. Despite that, I pushed them faster, my feet beginning to both burn and start to numb.

Yet the figure always stayed just out of my sight, undeniably there but vague. The longer I followed her, the more sure I became of my own emotions.

I knew this woman….

"Who are you?" I called out, as I forced my legs to move faster towards the mysterious woman, who almost moved out of my range of sight.

Whoever she was, she didn't respond, as she simply walked forward through the woods. It reminded me of a Poe, taunting me from afar, where it thought I couldn't reach it.

Only…. this woman gave off a comforting feeling. As if she were someone who was always close to my side, caring and helping me along the way.

Actually…. I could only see her hazy silhouette in the dark….

So why was I so sure that she was a wo-

She disappeared from sight, as if her form never existed within these dark woods. I could feel my eyes widen, as my legs quickly moved towards where she vanished.

But it seems that was too much.

My legs gave out as I took only a single step forward, as I fell to my knees. The once cool, soft soil under my knees had since become cold and hard. As such, the force of my landing made it up to my bruised thigh, as I forcefully gritted my teeth.

My muscles tensed, using up all of the energy I had on just resisting a shout of agony. As the pain ceased and I slowly relaxed, I caught myself from falling face first onto the unforgiving dirt.

I sucked in air as quickly as my body would allow, trying to get as much oxygen as possible. My body was already at its limit, that much was all too obvious. Already, my eyes were growing heavy, as my body tried to force myself into sleep.

I resisted that sensation, moving the fingers on my right hand enough to cause pain. The sharp sensation was enough for my eyes to feel just a little lighter.

I couldn't sleep here, that would be insane. I wasn't safe on the ground, and my body would force itself to sleep until my energy was restored. I needed to find someplace safe to rest before anything else.

Yet, the only sensation I felt in my legs were pressure and pain. They wouldn't be moving for a while, not unless I was able to get a potion or if I n-

A snap of a branch was all I needed, before I cursed my luck harder than I had ever before.

_**Grrr….**_

I looked to my side with a glare, accessing what kind of Demon it was and how dangerous it could be.

It was large, that much was certain, as it was easily my height on all fours. It was jet black, so it was quite hard to see it, even though it's fur was much darker than the forests shadows. Despite that, it's figure vaguely looked like that of a wolf, with large sharp spines across it's back with similarly sharp claws. It's face was covered by a bone mask with blood red lines and similarly colored eyes.

Basically, it was a Demon Wolf.

It was a weak enemy, that much I could tell just by looking at it. Though it's size suggested something strong, it was armored with nothing but it's hide. Even Wolfos have magic fur thick enough to block a blade.

But it was enough to kill me, weakened as I was. And this Demon knew it.

Like playing with a toy, it stalked around me, looking for the perfect angle to appear and kill me. It growled, showing off teeth that could easily puncture my skin and pierce my bones. It clawed at the cold, hard dirt, showing how easily it could separate my head from my spine.

It did all of this, trying to make me afraid. To fear it's strength so it could have more control over me.

Which only showed me how weak it really was.

Ignoring the attempt at fear tactics, I kept the creature at the edge of my sights at all times. I stood myself up, my once weak legs now stronger with the adrenaline pumping through my veins.

It growled as I stood up, but I simply ignored it, as I searched for a simple weapon I could use. All I could see, however, was thick trees and thin branches. Neither useful to my fight against this Demon.

Speaking of…

Done trying to make me fear it's strength, the Demon charged at me with a burst of speed. It snarled, it's jaws open and ready to snap my neck in two.

Instinct took over, as my mind instantly let go of all other thoughts and focused. The world slowed down, as everything seemed to move in a crawl.

Though it seemed fast, the Demon was much slower than other Demons I had faced. I watched in great detail as it lunges at me, aiming to crush my head with it's mighty jaws.

I was at a clear disadvantage against this Demon, that much was clear without a weapon.

However….

I took a simple step forward, ducking under the attack with ease. The beast sailed past me, missing my body and instead hitting a tree behind that was behind me.

That didn't mean I couldn't win.

With the attack dodged, I grabbed the creatures leg as it sailed by….

And pulled in the opposite direction from which it lunged.

I felt tension in both it's leg and my shoulder, as I pulled with enough force to rip it's leg out of it's socket. The sickening pop I heard was enough to tell me I had succeeded, as I simply let go.

It howled in pain, as it's leg laid useless at it's side, incapable of moving or supporting its weight. With three other limbs, the leg would only slow it down.

With that in mind, I moved as quickly as I could, kicking the larger spine on the wolves back. Though weak without the full motion of my arm and torso, it was enough to snap the bone in half.

Catching the bone as it flew in the air, thanks to my kick, I immediately pointed the sharpened part at the Demon…

And thrusted it straight into its skull.

It thrashed from what must've been unbearable pain, trying to delay the inevitable with the utmost haste. Yet, it didn't matter in the end, as it simply had no way to live.

A few seconds latter, the Demon stopped moving altogether, as the gleam in its eyes dulled. Unsure if this meant it was dead or not, I held the bone in place...

As it slowly dissolved into black particles, drifting in the wind.

Seeing this, I pulled out the bone I had used to kill it, discovering that it too turned to dust in my hands.

'_So much for that weapon…' _I thought to myself silently, the adrenaline coursing through me letting me forget about the pain I will surely feel.

I felt myself take long gasps, as even those relatively simple movements were enough to tire me out. Yet, now wasn't a time to rest.

'_I'll need to move quickly, and find some shelter. If what I know about wolves applies to these Demons….'_

A powerful howl was heard, as I turned and ran as fast as my body would allow.

'_...they hunt in packs.'_

I felt the large vibrations from the Earth, as I heard a number of beasts chased me down. Usually, I held no doubt that I could run faster than most Demons. In fact, I could probably take on hordes of these enemies.

But a group, without a weapon, as injured as I was? It was suicide, plain and simple.

Despite my head start, the Demons arrived behind me, three of them if my ears were correct. They were directly behind me, as I looked back to see if any of them would attack.

I was right, as three Wolf Demons were racing one another, all attempting to kill me. They were pushing each other, all trying to win the kill.

Right on cue, the Demon on the lunged, as the two quickly move to my flanks. Seeing this, I quickly rolled forward, as two claws came crashing down on the earth, upturning the earth with ease. I felt my bruised side scream in pain, but it was a simple thing to ignore, as I rolled back on my feet.

Just as I began to run again, the Demon to my left tried to swipe at me, as I simply dodged by jumping right. However, I was too late, as the Demon clip my bruised ribs, making the whole world blur and twist.

As I felt unimaginable pain on my right side.

I felt the Wolf strike me in the side, as the attack struck my aching, broken ribs. I didn't even have time to react, as the combined power of the strike and my jump shot me across the forest. Of course, a trail of blood coughed up from my mouth

As I rolled across the forest floor, I tried to stop myself, hoping to get back in control. Yet, my arms wouldn't move, and I couldn't move no matter how hard I tried. So, I instead leaned into the direction I was rolling, hoping that would change my luck in some way.

But, even that ended up as a failure, as I rolled into something. I bent backwards, as my back struck the implanted object, forcing me to let go of the air in my lungs.

All while those three Demon wolves stalked around my now prone form, enjoying the pain I was in. They took the time to enjoy, as if feasting on my raw emotion.

'_Damn…'_

That was all I could think at the moment. I knew I was unlucky, but…. This was going a little far. I had killed demons thousands of times stronger than these guy, yet this was how I would meet my end? Killed by a imitation of a Wolfos, alone in the woods.

Yeah right.

With all of the energy I had left, I slowly lifted my body into a sitting position, using what I assumed was a tree behind me to lean on. It was rough, but I was able to sit up, facing the poor excuses for a Wolfos…

As I grabbed a stick by my side, just the right length of a sword.

The Demons stared, almost bewildered at what I was doing. Not that I blamed them… I myself thought it was pretty stupid.

But….

The Demons weren't confused anymore, no in fact they were angry. As if I had taken something from them, they all snarled and growled, as their fur stood on end.

It didn't matter…

With my legs, I pushed myself up, keeping myself upright using the support behind me.

I'm not going to die here…. I still need to get back to Hyrule. I still needed to find Zelda!

I rose higher, as the three Demons backed up with each inch I rose, unsure of what they should do. They knew I was weak, knew that they could easily kill me with a well placed.

And yet…

I was almost halfway up, as I prepared my weak attempts at a defense, ready to take these three on.

They growled hysterically, attempting to scare me, make me back down in someway. Despite this, my gaze never changed, remaining a calm blue in the face of what might be death.

I stared intently into the red eyes, eyes that promised destruction, no matter the cost. I was calm, and ready to face those before me.

The three Demons charged simultaneously, looking to end my life where I stood…

Before howling in absolute agony.

The three Demons staggered, unable to hold their weight as they convulsed horrifically on the ground. Their black coats of fur slowly dissolved into pure white specks of light, leaving nothing but black skin. That too, was stripped away from them, as they attempted to escape from whatever was causing this.

My eyes were as wide as saucers, as I could only watch in shock and slight horror. It was such a shocking scene, that my legs finally collapsed from my own weight. It was at that point, I finally realized something….

My back was cold… as if I were leaning on…

I tried to turn my head, attempting to see what I was resting my back on. It was a fruitless effort though, as my body had finally forced myself to stop functioning.

My eyelids, unbearably heavy, closed on the sight of the Demons dying. Their skeletons, stripped of skin and fur, were also slowly dissolving into the white light. Despite my safety, I still tried to look behind me, hoping to see what was behind me.

Yet, I couldn't move, as my body forced my eyes closed….

As I felt what must've been a warm light spread across my body. It was like a blanket covering me, making me feel utterly secure and relaxed. Still, I opened my eyes, trying to see where this warmth came from.

_**Deku Tree's Congratulations ~ Breath of the Wild**_

Yet as I opened them, everything was blurry, as my mind began to shut down completely. All I knew…

Was that two different colored pieces of cloth covered me, as a voice gently whispered in my ear.

_Rest…_

It was a soft voice, familiar and alien all at once… Like an old friend long forgotten, but deeply remembered…

I honestly should of stood up, then and there. But the voice… it held my trust, a trust far deeper than I thought any could compare…

I smiled, unintentionally melting into this strange embrace that was cold yet warm.

I was tired… delirious even…

But… I feel as if I saw someone… a hazy figure of an ancient being… locked away in my skull...

I decided to say something…. before I fell unconscious…

"Thank… you…."

With that, the world slipped into darkness….

As the hero slept under her faithful watch.

* * *

_**The flow of time is always cruel… It's speeds seem different for each person, but no one can change it. **_

_**-Sheik **_


	2. Recovery and Discovery

_**Hello Everybody, And Welcome**_

_**To "A Hero's Dream!"**_

_**Reviews:**_

_**Tero7323: Thank you Tero, I'm glad to see you comforting words. And to you and everyone else reading this, please understand. Though Skyward Remnants was my story, I had a hard time balancing both narratives. Here, however, it will be easier to both showoff Link's ability and create my own character and add to the setting of the story. So, if you enjoy this, please continue to read this.**_

_**Darkmist111: This is an AU, with an entirely new tale, and a slightly older Link and Zelda. Though it hasn't written in this chapter or the last, Link is 20, with Zelda being 21. I will add the previous game mechanics with accurate descriptions of why and how, and he does start off at zero, though with one plus.**_

_**Super Heavy Weapons Guy: This is an AU, with no direct ties to one specific timeline. This is just supposed to take place after ALL of the games. Except for CDI.**_

_**Lilif3r19: Thank you, I tried really hard to keep it subtle enough to where you could guess it early, but direct enough where you'll know.**_

_**Shadyxlr: Thanks man, here's your new chapter, with quite a bit in it I hope.**_

_**Dragonmaster150: Thanks for understanding dude! As I told Tero7323, this is my chance to follow some of the narrative, but create my own in many aspects. For instance, since I am a fan of Japanese culture, but disappointed with how little they added in the show, expect some real… shady characters.**_

_**Dfelkselkr: I'm glad you like it, here's some more to satisfy you.**_

_**Fierce Spartan: I'm glad you're hooked!**_

_**Gojosin: I'm glad to see more people from Skyward Remnants here, and hope to see more of your reviews. And don't worry, since I can add more of my own creative twists in this story, there will be plenty of Passion. I've already summarized the way I want this story to go down for about ten chapters.**_

_**Alexkeller: Glad to see your review for this story too, hope to see you in the future!**_

_**VocaloidBrony: Thank you for your kind words, and yes this is a different Link. Though, I am sorry this took a while. Between planning for the future of this Fanfic and trying to plan the best finale I can for The Stars of Remnant, doing my job, and finding what I want to do with my life in college, it was difficult to pick up this story and write again. Also, I wasn't sure if you use a translator, or you can read but not write English, so I'm going to include a Spanish version of this review.**_

_**VocaloidBrony: Gracias por sus amables palabras, y sí, este es un enlace diferente. Sin embargo, lamento que esto haya tomado un tiempo. Entre planificar el futuro de este Fanfic e intentar planificar el mejor final que pueda para The Stars of Remnant, hacer mi trabajo y encontrar lo que quiero hacer con mi vida en la universidad, fue difícil retomar esta historia y escribir otra vez. Además, estoy seguro de que si usa un traductor, o si puede leer pero no escribir en inglés, voy a incluir una versión en español de esta revisión.**_

_**Plopprince: I'm glad to see you here too, and I hope like the fight scenes that will certainly come in future chapters.**_

_**Inheritance1990: Well my friend, I hope this will give you enough motivation to commit!**_

_**Sacke110: Yep, he's pretty much starting from scratch. But, as you could probably infer from the climax of the last chapter, not totally from scratch.**_

_**So, with the reviews done and answered, let's head to this new chapter!**_

* * *

_**Loading File.**_

_**.**_

_**. .**_

_**. . .**_

_**.**_

_**. .**_

_**. . .**_

_**Last time, we watched as Link and Zelda lost in their fight against Ganondorf, as he proclaims his victory to the Goddesses, and all of Hyrule! But, in a twist of fate, The King of Evil has had his wish granted, bringing The Hero of Hyrule and the Princess of Destiny along. Though Link has landed what may be the final blow against his enemy, he must now survive in a new area, with no weapons or gear. How will he fair, where is Zelda, and where has the King of Evil taken them? Let's find out!**_

…

_**File Loaded.**_

_**Continue?**_

_**.**_

_**.**_

_**.**_

_**.**_

—__**Yes**

_**No**_

* * *

_**Chapter 1: Recovery and Discovery**_

I was never someone to wake up easily, that was a fact of my life.

I woke up like it was any other day, with the sun high over my head and a crick in my neck. As my eyes slowly opened, and I felt the stiffness in my neck and the cold surface on my back, it slowly dawned on me…

'_I slept on watch again, didn't I?"_

I felt a yawn force its way out of my mouth, as I sat straight up. It wasn't an uncommon occurrence for me, as I usually took the first and only watch of the night. Zelda tried to take first watch once, but she quickly realized that she couldn't wake me up without a little force. Force, that in the middle of the night, was almost impossible for her to summon before collapsing in the sleeping bag.

So, I was usually the one to start watch and leave her to sleep.

As the yawn grew bigger, I stretched my arms back, curving my spine to stretch it out and get the kinks out of my neck. I also pointed my toes away from me, feeling my calves and thighs stretch out.

That's when I felt a sharp pain over my right arm and left thigh, as well as the incredible soreness through my entire body. I gasped at the sudden feeling of pain moving through me, which forced my ribs to ache in horrible pain. I could even feel the large scab on my chest pull, the dried blood almost tearing in two and leaking out the life-giving liquid once more.

I immediately relaxed my body, stopping any more attempts to stretch out my stiff muscles in hopes to stop myself from passing out due to the pain. As soon as I did, I felt how ragged my breathing actually was, and how horrible it was to take those breaths.

"Damn…" I said out loud, feeling my dry tongue scrape against my teeth. '_Why do I always stretch after sleep?' _I thought, to avoid the unpleasant feeling that came with moving my tongue. ``_you'd think I'd learn after Zelda had accidentally hit me with Di-'_

It came to me. instantly, like a lightning bolt from the heavens themselves. Everything that had happened, from Ganondorf to the demons chasing me down to…

Zelda…

I sat there, with the tree at my back, acting unnervingly calm as my fear rose. I breathed in, ignoring the incredible pain in my chest, before breathing out slowly.

Panicking wouldn't help me, just as it certainly didn't last night. I had used up too much energy desperately looking for my sword and almost ended up Demon food because of it. Such a thing can't happen again.

Besides…

I felt my stomach shake my whole body, as I gasped slightly at the pain in my ribs.

I was too hungry to be afraid of anything.

The gnawing pain of hunger was just as bad to me as the feeling in my ribs. Sure, being on the road for most of my adventure, I was used to sometimes having to give up the chance to eat. That was to be expected, as I couldn't find food in places like Death Mountain or Gerudo Desert without difficulty. But, I usually had something for Zelda and I by the end of the, taking from emergency reactions I placed in my pouch, which could only store a handful of food.

So going what might be two days without food, I could feel it affecting me more then the pain from my ribs. And the dehydration was worse. I could feel my lips cracking with the slightest movement, making it incredibly painful to speak. Not that speaking was a huge problem for me , as I was used to being quiet.

But, enough thinking. I need to eat something, now.

With an effort that I shouldn't have had the energy for with what might've been two days of starvation _and_ dehydration, I attempted to stand up. With my legs weak and stomach-turning from a lack of food, It was hard to stay standing. Despite that, the need for food and water outweighed the need to just sit down and sleep.

I took a few steps forward, my vision blurry from my dry eyes, as I rubbed them in an attempt to get them wet and see clearly. I would need all of my senses as sharp if I was going to find anything to eat.

Yet, as my eyes were closed in an attempt to clear them…

I almost slipped, as the ground seemed to move with my weight alone, as I finally had a clear look at my surroundings. And what I saw was definitely quite a shock.

Last night, in the heat of battle, I had seen everything very clearly. In fact, as the moment I had though might've been my end, I had taken special care to remember everything that I had seen.

As such, I couldn't help but notice a major difference. Mainly, all of the destruction that was surrounding me.

What was once a beautiful green clearing, with tall trees and healthy-looking grass, now looked as if a wild Dodongo had come and spun circles around me. Tree trunks were slashed, showing the wood underneath the bark, the ground looked as if a farmer had plowed the dirt around me for days on end. Nothing seemed untouched, as the entire area surrounding me had been absolutely destroyed.

Except…

I turned around, kneeling down to look at the ground beneath me even closer.

What I saw was, without any other word for it, strange. In the ground was a clear line, where the upturned dirt and the soft green grass met. Looking from the corners of my eyes, I saw that the line was the same there too. It was as if, whatever did this, couldn't even approach the grass where I had sl-

My ears heard it long before it roared. I could sense the rustling of leaves, and crunching of the now-dead leaves that had been shaken from the trees.

"_**RAWRRRRR!"**_

The roar had clearly come from behind me, so to counter that, I rolled forward in the grass, turning on a dime to face the Demon that was attacking me.

Its size and shape became clear to my eyes, as I looked into the blood-red abyss of the demon's eyes. It was exactly like that of the Demons who had chase me last night, though this one was a foot larger than them. It was sailing through the air, ready to crush me with the weight of its body and cut me with its sharp claws.

Without a second's hesitation, I raised my right hand towards the Demon, imagining my shield being placed exactly where my arm. This was done so quickly and was so ingrained into my instincts, that I had completely forgotten.

My shield and equipment were all gone.

I felt my eyes widen at such realization, as I looked at my arm, the bone completely shattered. It was impossible to block anything sharp with just an arm, least of all a broken one.

Seeing the situation clearly, I studied my opponent, looking for any direction to get away with getting struck by the Demon. I was already injured to the point where it would take months to heal alone, so I couldn't stand to take any more damage. With that thought running through my head, I prepared my legs to move, to escape this monster's claws.

Yet, as I had begun to move…

The claws that had attempted to cut me down seemed to be filed down at record speed, disappearing into pure specks of pure light. The incredible speed at which its claws disappeared didn't stop there though, as as soon as it sunk into the soft dirt, it's front leg faded away into the same light.

I could only stare at the demon, as it struggled within the soft dirt, struggling to escape whatever was causing it to turn into pure light. With the sudden lack of danger, everything seemed to move at the right speed once again, as I fell on my side into the soft grass. Of course, because it was my luck, I fell directly on my right arm, which pressed directly into my ribs causing my vision to blackout in pain.

I shouted in agony, causing my lip to split as I rolled myself onto my back. By the time I was able to see again, all that was left of the Demon was its skeleton, and even that was fading away into pure specks of light.

I took a second to breathe, watching the skeleton disappear in the best detail I could describe with my eyes swimming. Yet, all I could see was the demon disintegrate into the same specks of light as before, wondering what could be causing such a thing.

'_Though, now I know where all that soft dirt came from.' _I thought to myself, looking at the area around the now dead Demon, who had struggled so much to escape that the spines and claws had upturned the earth."_But, if the reason the entire area was like this was because of the demons…'_

'_How many of them tried to attack me while I slept?"_

The thought caused a chill to move through my spine, as I looked around at the destroyed area. Hundreds of Demons must've attempted to kill me in my sleep, and I was none the wiser. How many were there? Why were there so many?

However, it did clear something up for me. I had been wondering why there was a line in the grass when I woke up, but the answer was clear to me now.

Something or someone was protecting me through the entire night. Who or what that was, I wasn't sure…

But I had an idea.

Last night, I had been following that woman, trying to see who she was and where she was going. Then, when I had been cornered, someone had told me to rest. Maybe it was her?

If that was the case, then…

I turned around slowly, trying to find what exactly had kept me sitting upright the entire night. If whatever had been protecting me was still there, then I may be able to get some answers on who this woman was.

But, as soon as I laid eyes on what I had slept against the entire night, I felt my jaw drop to the floor.

Sitting there, waiting in the soft grass, was a familiar sight.

A sword, as beautiful and as deadly as any weapon should have the right to be, sat with its length a foot deep within the earth. It stood there, light from the sun shining down on it, like the creation the heavens could be nothing but proud of. The light itself was reflecting off of its polished blade, to the point where I could see my own reflection on the tempered steel. Its edge was sharp enough to cut the dirt with no doubt a small push on its purple handle and guard, which was shaped into a crescent moon with the points facing upward, with wings moving back down to the blade. In the center was a large amber gem on both ends, shaped into a rhombic pyramid, with small golden inlays under it and curving a little outward.

The handle was wrapped in straps of thin green leather, making it easier to have a grip upon the blade, and a circular pommel ending on a small, flat extension. And finally, near the guard of the blade, the metal extended outward, where an image of three triangles was etched in the center, two triangles right next to each other, and one on top of those two.

I could only stare at what was before me in awe, as I could hardly believe what was happening. It was here the whole time, the very blade I was searching for.

My sword… The Blade of Evil's Bane...

_The Master Sword_.

I slowly stood in a daze, barely aware of my arms and legs moving before my mind could comprehend. I didn't mind, however, as my mind was too focused on the complications of this.

That woman… she lead me here. But… why?

Many questions ran through my mind, as I felt my body take a step closer to the Master Sword. Who was she? Why did she lead me here, and refuse to speak or even show her face? How did she know that this sword belonged to me?

Though, as these questions popped into my head, some part of me told me... that they didn't really matter.

In some ways, I knew that she was connected to me, somehow. She was familiar, she held a trust from me that only a few people had. I even felt like I should know who she is, even after seeing only a silhouette of her.

But I also felt… that I already knew the answers to those questions. That, one day, I would get those answers, whether they come from her mouth, or someone else's.

Besides…

Something told me that that woman was much closer than she seemed.

With that thought, I realized I stood directly in front of my blade, simply staring at the handle. A surge of confidence welled through me as I gazed upon it, as if looking upon a friend I know would never let me down.

I slowly reached out my left hand, wrapping it around the handle, feeling the cool steel and warm leather from my gloves comfort my palm and fingers..

As if something had woken up from within the blade, a surge of power ran through my arm. But, unlike the magic Ganondorf forced through me in our battle, this energy felt natural. As if I were given back something that had been taken from me.

I cracked a smile, as I simply kept my hand on the blade, feeling some of my fears simply melt away. It was strange how comforting this blade was to me, like an old friend constantly by my side. Supporting me through my lowest points, and standing by me at my highest.

And so, with that thought, I flexed my arm.

The sword was out of the ground, and I couldn't help but marvel at the lack of soil upon its blade as I did. Though, that thought was quickly pushed to the side, as I held the blade out in front of me. I admired the weight of the blade and the perfect balance that seemed to fit so well into my hand. I even gave it a small test swing, and immediately felt the air part before the sword, as if avoiding its edge.

With the test swing done, I simply placed the blade back into the sheath on my back, feeling its presence as a comfort to my soul. With my sword with me, I simply walked away, being careful not to fall within the soft dirt again.

It was time to see what this country had to offer.

* * *

"Damnit!" I seethed through my teeth, once again using the Master Sword in my left hand to cut through my target below me. The swing wasn't perfect, as my injured leg made it hard to swing the blade. Despite that, the blade was still as dangerous as ever, it's edge as sharp as always, as I tried to cut my target in half.

However, my enemy danced out of the way, aiming to retreat. I would not let such a thing happen, as I attempted to kill it again. Aiming once more, I tried to stab my blade through its body, killing it with one swift blow.

Yet, even that missed, as the unrelenting hunger within my stomach ached, increasing my frustration. Attempting to use that anger to my advantage, I once again aimed for my target, trying to strike it for one last strike.

Of course, it didn't work, as the combined strength of the river, and the force of the overextended swing caused me to lose my balance.

Although, falling into the cool stream wasn't so bad, as It soothed the aching pain in my leg as well as my right arm.

Though, that never stopped me from glaring at my target, that swam away with its school.

"I never liked eating fish anyway…" I seethed under my breath, as I attempted to stand within the running stream. It was hard standing without full motion of my arms and legs though. Not to mention the rocks beneath my feet, which were slick with years of erosion and what might have been algae.

Using it as a sort of cane to keep myself steady, I sunk the Master Sword into the river bed. This gave me a strong handhold to lift myself up and allowed me to get out of the thigh-high water.

As I did, I couldn't help but wonder how the people of Hyrule would think. Me, standing in a random river, using one of the most important relics of our entire history as a walking stick.

I chuckled a little at the imagery, and slowly but surely made my way towards the edge of the river. It took me a while to get up the steep edge, using the exposed roots as footholds and the younger, flexible trees as ropes to help me climb.

When I finally climbed up the steep ledge, I arose to find the fire I had made, using dry leaves, sticks, and a flint and steel and quickly moved to its side. The water I had just been in already chilled me to the bone in the soft yet constant breeze.

I began to gently sit down, as to not aggravate any of my multiple wounds. There, I rang out my tunic and pants, getting as much of the water out as possible with only one hand.

It had only been a couple of hours since I had begun to walk through these woods since the discovery of my sword. Two since I realized I desperately needed both water and food to ever hope to continue this journey.

He had been looking for some sort of town or village, hoping to find something through the foliage of the forest. However, despite hours of walking, he couldn't find anything, not even a well-worn path in the grass.

Telling me that I was likely in the middle of nowhere, far from any sort of settlements that could aid me.

That didn't bother me much at the time though, as I was used to walking and jogging for days on end. It had gotten to the point that on our adventure, Zelda had to force me to slow down to let her rest daily. According to her, his amount of stamina was inhuman, and so was my ability to stay up at night.

My record was four days straight, and I only ever needed one night to get all of my energy back. It was another reason why I was usually the one to keep watch at night and look for monsters when she slept.

Though, Zelda was always mad when I would tell her that. Afterward, she would force me into the tent and force me to sleep, using Nayru's Love to make sure I couldn't get out. She would regret it sometimes though, as when I was asleep, it was hard to wake me up.

Anyway, I was ok with walking for days straight if I had to.

My body, on the other hand, was sore with pain and needed food and water. Even I, with my apparent inhuman stamina, needed something to keep myself going.

So, with a broken arm and a heavily injured leg, I attempted to hunt for food.

Easier said than done.

With no access to any of my equipment, save for a flint and steel, some cloth to use for my wounds, and my sword, I had nothing. No bow and arrow to hunt with, no slingshot to daze any animal I could find, no fishing rod to attempt to catch fish. Not even a Clawshot to bring animals towards me, and kill them with my sword.

All I had was my wit, my dominant hand, and the Master Sword. If I were fully healed, and my energy brimming to the top, I could possibly use my sword beams. But, I would starve and die of dehydration long before I was fully healed.

I briefly thought about throwing my sword at it, or maybe even a stick, but that was quickly turned down. I wasn't that desperate, and it served no purpose other than scaring the animals away. Besides, what are the chances of actually hitting something, and landing a killing blow? Maybe if I had a spear, but anything else?

So, instead of trying to kill a deer or the odd boar by throwing my sword at it, I decided to find somewhere I could camp out and find some food with ease. When I heard the roaring sound of the river, I knew I could try and get some fish in the river. Though, the part of the river I had discovered was moving way to fast for me to fish for anything, as I couldn't stand within the current.

So after walking upstream for an hour, I found a proper part of the river where I didn't have to be standing chest-deep in the river. The rivers flow was also nice and smooth, allowing him to see the fish that swam by. Not that it mattered much, as I couldn't even swing my sword at full power.

I grabbed at my stomach through my wet tunic and chainmail, feeling the bruise from Ganondorf's kick sting as I put even the slightest pressure on it. I moved my hand up, feeling the four broken ribs, two on each side, also made by Ganondorf. Finally, moving my hands up even further, I moved towards both the hole in my chain mail and tunic.

There, in the center of my chest, was a large cut, most likely created when The King of Evil punched me across Hyrule field. I don't remember ever getting this wound, and it certainly wasn't from those Demons last night. It was the only time I wasn't coherent enough to remember such a thing.

Finally, grabbing my sword, I used the mirror polish to look at the injury on my face. Sure enough, my nose was still broken, hurting with every touch, and every breath I took. It even blocked my breathing, as one of my was swollen shut. And worse, the right side of my head was swollen to the point that I could see my the bump through my hair.

With these injuries, a practically shattered right arm, and a leg I couldn't even stand on properly, it was no wonder my swings were weak. Despite popular belief, swinging a sword was not just the use of one's arms. If it was, every soldier in the Hylian army would be almost ridiculously top-heavy.

Every part of the body needed to work together in harmony, shifting and moving so that the maximum strength could be reached. The legs, the core, the shoulders, the placement of the feet, everything was important. If one didn't work, then the flow was off and the blades swing would be that much weaker.

Of course, I could still work with this. Despite the importance of the whole body for combat, I have long since figured out that I could never always be at full strength. The battle against Ganondorf, still clear in my mind, was a perfect example of this.

I've learned to fight far beyond the best of my abilities, even in the worst of times. This time was no different…

So, with that thought in mind, I quickly grabbed a stick at my side and put it in between my teeth. Then, before I even had a chance to think, I put my nose in between the pointer and middle finger of my balled hand…

And simply squeezed it, and jerked it back into place before I could register the pain.

The stick in my mouth snapped with the pressure I had placed on it, as I held back an incredible scream of agony. Tears built up in my eyes, as squeezed shut in the incredible pain. Every muscle I had followed suit, as my body reacted to the white-hot pain coursing through my body.

Which, of course, made the pain worse, as my ribs moved painfully from the air I was trying to keep in my lungs. My right arm also curled in pain, as it only added to the outright agony I was feeling.

After a few minutes of slow breaths, I finally calmed down enough to the point where he could grab his sword, and use it as a mirror.

Luckily, it seemed that I didn't have to go through all of that pain for nothing. My nose was back in alignment, though horribly bruised. It would take some time to heal, but it would no doubt look just as it did before it was broken.

With that fixed, I spit the stick out, washing my mouth with clean water, and took the time to look at the rest of my face, as there weren't any injuries I would have to fix. Though, I'll have to wrap my head, to hopefully keep the swelling down.

I flinched back at my own reflection, I finally took the time to look at myself in the sword. And, to put it simply, I looked awful.

My hair, from the lack of any washing for two days, was covered in layers of dirt and grease. This turned my usual light blonde hair into a darker shade, and was matted to my head in a veil of oily sweat. My hat was just as dirty, covered in dirt and mud from the river, making the usual emerald green turn into a mossy color.

My eyes, which were a brilliant blue, were bloodshot due to the lack of water. Though they were healing pretty quickly, as with the fire and my metal canteen, I had a steady supply of healthy drinking water. I also had small scapes over my face, which had been described as by many to be quite handsome.

Other than that, my face looked exactly the same. Same old Link, even if I was in an entirely different country.

I gave a quiet sigh, before searching through one of my four pouches. One was the obvious magic pouch, located on my left hip, which still didn't work no matter how much I focused on any item. The second pouch on my back was my emergency supplies, such as the canteen, emergency first aid supplies, and an emergency fire starter kit, which he had used..

The third pouch on my right hip carried emergency rations, such as bread and dried meat. But, it was near empty, and no where close to be able to fully feed me. So the most I could use it for was a quick snack or bait for the fish in the river. But, with no fishing rod, it was pointless to try.

The fourth and final pouch, which was fastened to my sword and shield harness, was my wallet. All of which were filled to the brim in assorted Rupees, from Green to Gold, totaling at around 7,999.

So, reaching into my emergency supplies pouch, I pulled out the adhesive wrap, which was wrapped tightly around itself. Grabbing some of the thicker kindling I had used to make the fire for preparation, I attempted to unroll the wrap. However, as it stuck together rather easily, thanks to the natural Deku Sap, it was hard to remove it with only one functional hand.

Giving a quick sigh, I looked for any simple way to remove the sticky wrap. Luckily, such a thing was easy to find.

Thrusting the Master Sword into the dirt, I quickly found the small lip where you were supposed to remove the wrap. Pushing it into the sharp edge of the blade, it parted the two wraps with ease.

Unwrapping at least three inches of the sticky wrap, I took one of the sturdier sticks and cut them into nearly equal halves using my sword. Using my left thumb to measure the width of my nose, I placed the two sticks onto the bandage. Matching the distance an extra half-inch to both the right and left, making up for the height of my nose.

With that done, I picked up the bandage and placed the center of it on my nose. Since it was still sensitive, it stung quite a bit. But, I bore with it, making sure the bandage was tight so that my nose could heal properly.

I sighed in relief, knowing that the worst part of healing my injuries was over. Though I still had a bad leg and a broken arm, those could be set correctly with very little pain. The ribs, well, there was nothing that could be done with them. The muscles in his chest made sure that those ribs unless they snapped off, would stay in place. I just needed something to ease the pain.

So, with my nose bandaged up, I went to the next injury that was the easiest to fix. Refilling the adhesive wrap, I put it back into my emergency supplies, before grabbing some normal wrap for my arm. Removing the pin that kept it wrapped, I set it to the side to grab the rest of the supplies I would need.

Grabbing a much longer and thicker stick from the pile of kindling, I made sure it was as long as my arm. Quickly grabbing another stick of about equal size, I sat on my knees, before thrusting the two sticks into the ground. Then, when the two sticks were properly spaced out, I placed my right hand gently it between them.

With that done, I quickly grabbed the wrap and spun it around both my arm and the two sticks, creating a splint. Making sure it was nice and tight, I placed the pin that was used to keep the wrap from unraveling. Then, after wrapping it around my arm again, only this time closer to my elbow, I merely did a simple knot with the wrap itself.

With the splint finished, I moved on to my head, which was much simpler compared to the other two. I simply used the last of the wrap to compress the swelling. Though it hurt to have it on, I knew it was better to keep the swelling down so my head could heal properly.

My leg was just bruised, so it didn't really need anything to help it heal. So, I tried to stand once agai-

My leg and ribs screamed in pain, as the lack of any food and energy stopped any motion. I sat back down with a wet thud, as the vibrations from the sudden landing caused pain to rip through my leg and chest.

I sighed, which moved my chest once again, causing incredible agony. If every step and breath caused me this much pain, how was I supposed to find shelter?

'_I guess there was no avoiding it…' _I thought to myself, as I slowly moved back into my emergency supply pouch.

Rushing through the pouch, I felt for my target, trying to discover where in the world I had placed it. As I kept moving my hand, I felt the cold touch of glass, as I squeezed my left hand around, and pulled out a small glass vial.

The glass vial itself was quite small and was only able to hold about 6 fluid ounces. But I was less worried about the vial, and more about what was inside the vial.

Horribly viscous liquid lay inside of it, coating the walls of the vial in a dark red stain. Every once in awhile, it seemed to bubble up and slowly rise to the top. I pulled the stopper off of the top of the via, and a pungent odor quickly poured out, as I felt my nostrils burn from the smell.

From just the look of it, any man, woman, or child in Hyrule could tell you that this was a Potion. A liquid made by the many apothecaries in Hyrule, to help keep the people nice and healthy. However, this was not like any normal Potion.

This horrible concoction made by some mysterious researcher was known as a Dark Potion. A potion made from the byproducts of the much brighter Red Potions, and cooked with the use of some Monster Essence. Why anyone would ever combine those two things, I would never understand. In fact, by sight and smell alone, I would've never bought it if it cost me my life.

However, there was a reason these Dark Potions were still selling in crazy amounts, even with its horrible look and smell. That reason was the effect this potion gave.

It was the most powerful painkiller in Hyrule.

One serving of this, and any Hylian, Zora, Gerudo, and Goron alive would almost completely block any sensation of pain. No matter how severe or fatal those wounds were, you would feel no pain, sores, or even discomfort. You would know the wounds are there, and whatever new wounds you may get, you would feel. But little to no pain was ever felt.

It was revolutionary how useful this potion was to the field of medicine. Red, Green, and especially Blue Potions themselves would sell for quite a pretty Rupee, and would only see instant effects when consumed in large doses.

The opposite was true for the Dark Potion. It was incredibly cheap to buy, and only ever needed small doses to work. The vial in my hands gave me almost 12 doses, and each dose lasted almost twenty-four hours.

Unfortunately, this potion was just as dangerous as it was useful.

Taking too much of the Dark Potion could have some serious, but otherwise temporary, side effects. Taking too big a serving could have you completely numb, unable to feel _anything _at all for days on end. No sense of touch or sense of pain at all. You could cut off your own hand and feel absolutely nothing, till the millisecond you die.

Any more than that, and you would lose all muscle control, and be a rag doll with no way to move even your eyes. More than that, and many of your organs, including your diaphragm and lungs, would cease functioning, making you unable to breathe as you feel nothing. More than that, and your heart and brain would instantly stop, causing sudden death.

Though, you would need a half a gallon before it can ever stop your motor functions. And much more to inflict instant death. But it only took taking twice the original dose to become numb to all pain.

Which made it an absolute pain to fight many of the enemies he had faced, who took that double dose and preceded to become berserkers.

But the possibly dangerous side effects weren't the reason why I despised this potion. The real reason I hated it…

Was the taste.

I glared at the small vial with an obvious grimace, as the mere memory of the last time I had this potion was fresh on my mind. It was directly after I had faced my first Darknut, which had given me a concussion, a broken shoulder blade, a broken sternum, and a large cut from my shoulder to the middle of my chest. With an incredible amount of blood loss, I couldn't think straight, and couldn't grab my potion from my magic pouch.

Zelda had to use her magic to heal me, but she was almost out from trying to help fight off the giant Knight Demon. She even broke her arm when she tried to protect me with a hastily put up Nayru's Love. So, without potions to heal her magic power, or a potion to heal me, she had to put me back together with the emergency wrap.

However, every movement I made was complete agony, and I almost passed out from the pain. As I was the only one who had access to the Potions, I needed to be awake to get those potions out of my pouch. But, if I were knocked unconscious, I couldn't take them out.

So, Zelda gave me a single dose of Dark Potion to help me handle the pain and keep trying to get a red and green potion out.

It had tasted awful, and that taste had lingered for hours, making everything I ate and drank taste equally as bad! Though, arguably, I had made a full recovery because of the potion, I vowed never to drink it again.

But now wasn't the time for that.

If I really was in a different country, then Zelda is likely in a very similar situation. Though he was positive that she could take care of herself, Ganondorf could still be out there. For all I knew, that man could be searching for the both of us at this very moment, plotting his revenge.

And Zelda was the prime target for such revenge.

Ganondorf had already threatened to kill her, all so that he could watch me suffer. He didn't care if he lost the perfect Queen to his rule, all that mattered to him was that I suffered.

I felt my heartache at the very thought of Zelda being hurt because of me. She had been with me through the entirety of my journey, every step of the way. She had taken care of me when I was injured and offered support when I felt that I couldn't go further. She had fought tooth and nail with me and had sacrificed so much to save her kingdom.

She had suffered enough for a lifetime. We both have. She didn't deserve to be hunted to the ends of the earth. She didn't deserve the threat of death on a near-daily basis.

She deserved better.

So, I will give her better. I will make sure she receives everything she deserves for everything she has sacrificed.

Even if it means I have to slay the King of Evil and all of his minions!

I glared at the small vile in my hand, before bringing it to my lips. I tossed my head back, being careful to be sure I was taking the proper dose. With an effort that seemed almost ridiculous for drinking a small amount of liquid, I swallowed the vile substance.

Before I vomited the potion back up into the fire, as it gave off a hideous purple smoke.

* * *

_**2 Hour Later...**_

It took two more doses before I was able to keep the potion down. Even so, I could still taste the damn thing, as I resisted the urge to spit the potion back up.

Thankfully, the potion actually worked, as I could feel almost none of the pain I had felt earlier. Though the taste of what he could only assume was Bokoblin sweat and rotted fish cling to my tongue, making me gag every so often. Even warm water with salt, which he had in his emergency rations pouch so he could dry and save any meat he collected, didn't help.

So, to try and distract himself from the taste, he went back to fishing. Yet, even though I was fixed up, with my pain practically gone, I couldn't catch a single fish.

It was beyond frustrating, coming so close to eating something, but missing by only centimeters of difference. Centimeters that wouldn't exist if I were fully healed.

It got to the point where, if I had my Magic Pouch working, I would just throw an Underwater Bomb in the river and hope for the best. Yet, since I didn't have any bombs, I had to do something a little more… embarrassing.

_``I never thought I'd have to use my hat as a makeshift fishing net….'_ I thought to myself, as I bit into one of the three cooked fish I caught by placing a piece of bait in my hat. I cringed as I chewed into it, as what should have been a delicious fish was ruined by the horrible after taste of the Dark Potion. '_I can't let Zelda find out about this!' _I told myself, as I could only imagine her laughing at my expense.

I forced myself to swallow the fish, ignoring the urge to get rid of the horrible taste. It would be a waste of good time and energy if I didn't eat this, and I'd have to go fishing _again._ And he wanted to avoid that for as long as he could.

So, despite the taste of bokoblin sweat sticking to my tongue, I continued to eat the rest of my fish unopposed.

Or, that is what would've been the case, if my hearing wasn't stronger than an average Hylians. As, to the normal ear, nothing could've been heard from the roaring river at my side.

But I did.

I froze mid-bite into the fish I had just cooked, unsure whether or not what I had heard was real. Removing my teeth from the soft flesh of fish, I turned my head towards what I had thought I heard and focused.

…_**.Bang….**_

I heard it once again, but not well… It was too quiet, and I could barely hear it over the river and the popping and fizzing of the damp wood in the fire.

I closed my eyes and cupped my ear, focusing entirely on my hearing to pick up the sound. I let every noise fade into a simple hum, focusing only on the smallest noises.

_**...bang….**_

There it was again!

Opening my eyes, I focused on the direction from where the sound came from, before grabbing my sword. With a simple move that came as easy as breathing, I slashed a simple arrow into the dirt, pointing in the direction of the sound.

These sound, though far and withered through distance, were as easy to identify as the sound of my own breath.

Explosive Powder… the kind used to fire cannons.

The canons that cities used to defend their walls.

The connection was easy to see, even for me. This whole time, a city had been nearby and I had been unaware of its existence. Then, someone or something came too close to the walls, perhaps a large demon or an attacking kingdom.

Whatever the case, the maintenance and amount of Explosive Powder to pay for and fire a cannon made to defend a castle was not cheap. You would need someone trained to aim the cannon, quite a bit of Explosive Powder, proper ammo, and someone to repair said cannon should it be damaged. And it the case of a city, you would need to multiply that by at least 15.

That kind of upkeep took money and lots of it. Nothing a simple town or village could produce to defend themselves.

So that meant there was a relatively large city nearby, which meant…

A Landmark, as well as a map! The first steps to finding Zelda, and returning back to Hyrule.

I moved as quickly as I could, taking the two remaining fish and covering them in salt to dry them out, and using the Master Sword, to carefully cut thin pieces of meat. Given enough time in the sun, they could turn into some basic jerky, and add on to provisions. Though, it took some time to use the longsword to cut the meat with one fully functioning hand.

With that finished, kicked some sand into the fire to avoid the chances of a forest fire. Grabbing the steel canteen from the coals of the fire with a small stick, and sticking it into the cool river. With a loud his, the canteen cooled at an extreme pace, as the water inside still boiled.

That would have to do though, as he was in a hurry. If the cannon fire stopped, before he could start the journey, he may just lose the source of the sound. And if he was off by more than five degrees, he may end up miles away from the city. And if the city used this dense foliage to hide from attackers sight, he would never find it.

So, before the canteen became too hot to handle in his hands, he snapped the lid back on the canteen. Then, I simply placed it back into my rations pouch, hoping that the warmth of the canteen would dry some of the still damp parts of the tunic.

With the meat prepped, the water ready, and the fire out, I grabbed the Master Sword with my left hand. Though it would be faster to run, my leg was still injured, and any deep breathing could break my ribs further.

So, sheathing the Master Sword, I grabbed one of the long sticks I had created for this very occasion. It wasn't anything special though, just a simple stick that came just a little above my waist.

With that, I began to move in the direction of the arrow I had created. Though I could still hear the cannon fire in the distance, so I didn't really need it. But it was always good to be prepared.

I moved as quickly as I could with my leg. Though I felt no pain from the muscle, I could still feel how tight it was, and how it groaned as I moved it. So, I had to move slower than my usual jogging pace.

Though, it should only be a few miles away, as the sound of gunfire couldn't travel more than a few miles. An easy stretch compared to the Gerudo Desert, and it's seemingly endless dunes of sand.

However, due to the fact that they might confuse me for the people or demons they were firing at, I moved slowly and taking cover behind the trees with every shot I heard.

By the first hour of walking and taking cover, I started to finally hear more than just cannon fire...

I started to hear people too…

"-any of these fucking Grimm are there!" I heard a woman scream at the top of her lungs, as rapid cannon fire quickly followed suit, though, even though the loud thunder-like claps of the cannon, he could still hear the loud growl of initiation

Hearing this, my ears zoned in on the direction it was coming from. Though, I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at rapid-fire sounds of the cannon. How fast was she loading the cannonballs into the cannon? And how in the name of the Goddesses was she carrying both the cannon _and _the cannonballs?

Curiosity building up inside of me, I decided to move faster, trying to see this spectacle myself.

It took another five minutes before I finally got a good look at the person responsible for such a loud attack in the woods. Careful not to let her see me, in fear that she would shoot me with a cannonball, I hid behind a tree and peeked out slowly. Though, with the number of trees in the area, it was very hard to see any recognizable details, such as a knights crest, as to help me understand which kingdom this is.

All that I could see was that she was as tall as I was, had something strange in her hands, wasn't alone…

And she was being attacked by a large number of Demons.

I could see them racing between the trees, as black and as hideous as the three Wolfos that had chased me just last night. They were dodging and attacking the girl, and what looked to be two other guys. As one of the warriors within the group were attacked, they would try to kill that demon, only for a new attacker to blindside the group. And the Demons repeated themselves over and over, slowly but surely weakening the whole group.

It was a plan of attack that had closely resembled that of the Leevers tactics of attacking in the Gerudo Desert, where food and sustenance were hard to find for the weaker Demons. So, they banded together, closing in on their prey and ensuring no escape for whoever was caught in it.

I could only watch and grimace as they were continuously blindsided, as one of the women, supposedly the one that had shouted earlier, fired shots in random directions.

Though, stranger still, he was certain that he could one of the men… laughing?

"We are so dead!" The man shouted out, as he laughed almost hysterically at the Demons within the trees. Though, the man seemed to recognize this, as he tried to cover his mouth. With very little success.

"Will you stop laughing!" The other, older man screamed, as I could see him shiver from here. "We're might just die here, and you can barely hold your gun straight!"

"I-I-I, I can't, pft-" The other man tried to respond, as he tried to hold his laughter in long enough to speak normally. Though, that didn't end up working, as his head snapped back as he giggled to the heavens.

With them obviously distracted by their seemingly insane colleague, I moved as quietly as I could. Still, in an attempt to stay in cover, I immediately moved towards another tree, closer to the three-man group.

As I moved, I nearly jumped directly behind the tree, as another cannon fire went off. Once behind the tree, I attempted to find where this cannon was, and how they were reloading it so fast.

I peeked out from behind the tree, and from there I got a better look at the group.

My immediate attention went to the one who was laughing hysterically with his head held back. He looked about 23, with a lithe physique to the point where he almost looked starved. If it weren't for the red shirt and gray pants, I was certain I could see most of his ribs. Though it didn't seem like they were starving him, rather that was just the way he looked.

His head was mostly shaved, except for a long strip of hair that almost stuck straight up. The hair itself was grey, with strange black spots peppering the hair.

He held what could only be a shoddily sharpened hunting cleaver, with a black and red striped handle. In his other hand, he had four finger claws, which were white and sharp.

The other man, who was trying to shut the young man up, was much older by comparison. Though it was only going off of the pure silver hair, and the wrinkles across his hands. He too wore gray and red, just like the younger man, with what seemed to be leather underneath. In his hands, he held a small, strangely shaped club, with what looked to be a cylinder and a hole in the front.

The woman who had shouted earlier, who I will dub the angry lady, was nearly as tall as I am. She and wild, fire-red hair, and wore brown leathers that offered very little protection to her heart and midriff. Her sleeves seemed to have been ripped off, and her pants were too short and thin to offer any protection. Though, her feet were well protected, with a pair of what looked to be leather and steel grieves. In her arms was a club similar to the old man's, though longer and with only two hollow cylinders.

As I looked at the curious group, I couldn't help but focus on the strange weapons in their hands. Namely, the strange clubs that they had.

A hollow club? What use was that?

Such a weapon would immediately be unusable after a few mere strikes. Though the smaller one may be fine, due to the fact that it couldn't generate enough force to bend the hollow steel. The one in the angry woman's hands though, one strike in an incorrect place could bend the entire club, curving it ever so slightly.

I frowned, looking upon the group in pity. They must've been so desperate for weapons that they paid for the cheapest weapons they could grab. Though, I wondered what sort of blacksmith would make such a weapon.

I stabbed my walking stick into the ground, reaching for the blade on my back. If they were that desperate for _any _weapon, then they were surely a dangerous situation. Helping them might even get them to trust me enough t-

_**BANG!**_

I almost screamed in pain, as the sound of a cannon seemed to go off. I cringed as my eyes squeezed shut, and covered my ear quickly as possible. My ears rang like a bomb had just gone off near my head, and the world around me seemed to blur.

'_What…. what the hell was that!?' _I asked myself, though I could barely hear that thought, as the ringing in my ears seemed to overpower everything. I opened my eyes, reaching into my emergency pack for the rest of the medical wrap I had. Though I only had about an inch, I bit into one half and tore the cloth in half. With no hesitation, I stuck the cloth in my ears, hoping that would muffle the cannon fire.

_**Bang!**_

I sighed in relief, as the still loud cannon fire barely hurt my ears. And, with the Dark Potion still in effect, it was merely an echo of what it could've been. Though my ears still rang, and now it was harder to hear the small groups voices.

Even still, I could see what looked like smoke coming out of the end of the angry woman's club. She seemed to curse though, as one of the Demons attacked woman, as she reached into a small pouch on her hip.

Only for the older man to step in front of her, but his club to the Demons head a-

_**bangbangbangbang!**_

I felt my eyes widen, as the club blew four holes straight through the Demons head. Those holes seemed to expand though, as the demon disappeared in black particles.

It was only then that it seemed to click in my mind. They weren't pulling a cannon and cannonballs around with them…

'_They had miniature cannons!'_

"This is why we don't give inexperienced pissants like you a Double Barrel!" The old man said simply with a sigh, as he took off a small pouch on his side, and tossed both the bad and cl- hand cannon in the air. As the girl focused on the hand cannon that was thrown at her, he snatched the longer hand canon and the bag on her hip.

"Hey!" She cried out, catching the hand cannon and the small bag. "That's mine you dick! Give it back!"

"Shut your goddamn mouth Mary, before I tear off your arms and shove them so far up your ass, people'll be thinking you're picking your nose!" The older man shouted, pushing down on the two steel cylinders of the hand cannon, or 'double barrel' as he said before. I was surprised to see very little resistance though, as the double barrels front bent down, popping out two smaller cylinders. "Ed, you're cleaver!" He said suddenly, before pulling two identical cylinders from the small bag.

"N-no way!" Ed told the older man quickly, waving said sword in front of him in a desperate attempt to keep the demons away from him. " you have a shotgun! I don't have- "

The older man placed the two cylinders into the hand cannon, before he stuck the double-barrel right in front of Ed's face, causing the young man to give a loud shrieking laugh. "- any problem with giving you this to you, sir!" Ed said simply, holding out the large cleaver to the older man.

The man only responded with a small nod, before snatching the sword out of his hands…

And bringing it down on the double barrel, chopping off a large chunk of its front. Much to the angry lady's, Mary's, horror.

Before Mary could make a fuss though, he aimed the double barrel, which now seemed much lighter, in a random direction.

He fired it, as what seemed to be a bunch of small pellets that moved in a large area. Many of the Demons were hit, forcing them to slow down and be vulnerable.

All except one.

A larger demon, just like the one that had attacked me when I woke up, moved directly out of the way of the blast with great speed.

I know, because it almost ran right into me.

Seeing the large demon almost run me down, I quickly rolled out of the way, dodging the unintentional attack. The demon, who was getting his bearings, seemed to recognize that there was someone else here.

Turning to me, I recognized something different compared to the others I have seen. Though the clearly sharper bones on its arms and back tipped me off, it was also a foot taller. It's mask also had scratches on it, as if it had fought many battles.

It looked at me with its red eyes, growling as it inched ever closer, ignoring the battle that was going on behind it. It seems I was looked upon as an easy target, as it looked at my wounds, and wrap around my arm.

I quirked an eyebrow though, as it seemed to freeze when it saw my clothes. The other shot up though, when actually took a step _back, _all in the span of a second. It took a step further back when it saw the sword on my back... as if it were….

That couldn't be though. Demons don't fear humans, especially not injured ones. I had faced and killed hundreds of Bokoblins at the same time, and not once did they stop their horrific onslaught. All as the crawled through the smoke that came from their kin as if they couldn't see it.

Thinking that it was trying to trick me, I stepped forward into a stance, reaching for my sword…

When it tucked it's tail between its legs and roared as loud as it could. All before it bolted in the opposite direction, faster than I could sprint.

I could only stare as it ran right into the group of three he had spying on just a second ago. It knocked all three of them over, charging deeper into the forest at a breakneck pace. The multiple demons that had been attacking the group had also-ran, as they left the forest with their leader.

I could only stare at the now calm, clear forest, as the group of three rose from their place on the ground. Realizing the I was out in the open, I hid back behind the tree, my only defense against the hand cannons without the Hylian Shield.

Still, my mind was running amuck, filled with questions. Who were these people, and where did they get these hand cannons? Why did the demon run away when he saw me? And most importantly…

Where on the Goddesses green earth was he!?

"And that…" The older man began, as he brushed the dirt off of himself. "Is why you leave shotguns to the professional's kid." He told them, before blowing what looked to be smoke from the top of the gun.

"T-they… ran away..." Ed asked as I was unsure if he was asking a question or was just as shocked as I was.

"Damnit, Mac!" Mary shouted at the top of her lungs, snatching the double-barrel out of the old man's, now known as Mack's, hands. "You broke my gun!"

"I didn't break it…" Mac said, taking back the smaller hand cannon, as well as the small brown bag from Mary. "I improved it. Now stop whining! We got some distance we gotta cover if we wanna get back to camp, and I don't wanna see you skulking around like your mother just told you that, yes, she did drop you on your head! Now move!"

Mary glared at Mac with a ferocious gaze, as if she were trying to light him ablaze with her eyes. Only for her to relent with a sigh, as she already began to walk away.

"Ed," Mac spoke up quickly, as Ed quickly jerked his head towards the older man's direction. "Be on the lookout for any more Grimm. It's getting dark, and you're the only one of us with night vision. See any, tell me and I'll kill it faster than you can blink."

"A-a-are you sure?" Ed said simply, chuckling as he wrung his hands in a nervous fashion. "We could just a-avoid the-"

"And let them get away with ambushin' our camp?!" Mac shouted in Ed's face, as said man laughed almost hysterically in fear. "I don't think so you Hyena faced bastard! We lost three guys last night, two of which owed me over 3000 lien from our next raid! Lien that would have gotten me a nice vacation to the beaches of Mistral! So if you don't let me vent my righteous fucking vengeance on these Grimm, so help me God, you and your skinny ass are gonna be strung up by your fucking Mohawk, while I whip you with your mother's tail! Got it!"

"Y-y-Yes Sir!" Ed said quickly, as he continued to laugh hysterically in Mac's face, before running after Mary in fear. Mac was close behind them, putting more cylinders into the hand cannon.

Seeing them leave, I followed after them, realizing with a small sigh that it was the right choice to hide.

Strange weapons, dark-colored clothes, raids where what he assumed were, large amounts of currency were involved?

These three weren't knights, freelance bounty hunters, or even mercenaries…

They were Bandits.

I made sure sneak further behind the three, being careful not to take a step that I could hear. If these guys were bandits than there is no telling how they could react to my presence near their camp. Worse, there was no telling what they would do to a foreigner, who was heavily injured, had a fancy sword, with lots of money, in a country where I didn't know if slavery was legal, _and _near their camp.

My luck really was shit, wasn't it?

However, despite the risks, I continued to follow them. If they really were bandits, then they would have a map of the country, filled with caravans, towns, _and _cities where he could finally find a potions shop.

So, despite the _numerous_ risks that came with it, I continued to follow the three oblivious bandits. Moving one tree at a time in hopes of remaining undetected by the group.

However, as I was moving in between the trees, I saw one of the three bandits shiver a-

I felt cold steel press against the back of my neck, as once again, I cursed my luck.

"Trying to follow us, huh?" Mary asked from behind me, hand cannon on my neck, and another on my sheath. Seeing no escape from this situation, as I could see the two look around for their missing member, I simply raised my hands in the universal sign of 'I surrender'.

"What are you, a Huntsmen, one of Lionheart's goonies?" Mary asked me, as I could hear Mac curse at the girl. "Doesn't matter, you'd face the same end regardless. Though, you are _actually_ kinda lucky."

"How's that?" I asked her, watching as Ed finally found them. I could see them pointing the both of us out, as Mac seemed to growl in rage.

"If it weren't for that shiny, reflective metal you have on that sheath, my Semblance would have never found you," Mary told him simply, as she walked around me to face my front.

As she did though, I silently wondered what this 'Semblance' was. Perhaps it was a form of magic, specific to this region? Or maybe something else…

When she finally moved in front of me, with the hand cannon directly in between his eyes. As she did, I watched as she looked me up and down with her sickly green eyes, and smiled as she stared at my face. "And you would've had your pretty little head cut off when you took one step inside. Now though, you can get exactly what you want."

"And what's that…" I asked her simply, as the rest of her little group was just a few feet behind them.

She smirked, probably thinking he was playing coy when he really was just asking her. "Now…" She began, as Ed put his cleaver against my neck, and Mac put his smaller hand cannon to his temple.

"You get to meet the boss of the Branwen Tribe."

* * *

Chapter Quote

**_" On the road of life, one comes across many misfortunes. Though, if you play your cards just right, you may find that it reaps unexpected rewards..." _**

* * *

**_Next Time, on "A Hero's Dream":_**

**_"Hero's, Bandits, and Mages"!_**


	3. Heroes, Bandits, and Mages

_**Hello Everybody, and Welcome**_

_**To another chapter of "A Hero's Dream"!**_

_**Now, let's not hold anyone up, and get to the reviews, and then the Chapter!**_

_**darkmist111: That, you will see in this very chapter, as Link faces quite a bit of opponents, with quite a few handicaps. And, in true Zelda style, weaknesses to exploit!**_

_**Dracus6: Though I thank you for the Idea, My brother and I have quite a few works in the making already. And, unfortunately, I have yet to get to three houses, so it wouldn't work for me. I will get to it eventually though, so I may keep it in mind. However, I am uncomfortable with writing full romance, and am absolutely not… comfortable with writing gay romance. **_

_**Gojosin: That was actually a mistake in writing, as I wrote quite a bit of my last story and many of my potential One-Shots in the Third person. So, it was really hard to transition from almost 270,000 words in the third person, not including the stories still in development, to the first person again.**_

_**VocaloidBrony: Due to the fact that Google Translate and Spanish Dictionary say a relatively similar thing, I'm going to assume that you suck at writing! XD But seriously, I can't make a lot of sense of this, so I'm going to write assuming what you wrote. **_

**Go History gets interesting:** _**I think you mean this story, Hero's Dream, and thank you for the compliment. **_

**Link met with members of the Raven Tribe, it is an interesting change since most Link stories meet the Team RWBY:** _**This on is Self-explanatory, and I thank you for noticing. I tried to find something interesting to do with the story that would change it from the normal types of story.**_

**He asked me what the Link and Raven meeting will be like.:** _**I'm going to assume that he means darkmist111, who mentioned the meeting between the two. **_

**By the way something I forgot to put in my first comment. The Truth is a True Pity to cancel Skyward Remanent, I really liked the story, especially when Link Paralyzes the Omega Beowolf that part was my favorite**

**Anyway, I'll be waiting for the next chapter:** _**Thank you, and I'm sorry to disappoint but know that that wasn't an easy decision to make. I tried to find a way to keep the story but change the direction it was going in, but it was getting too stressful. So, I decided to change the story to this. I really hope you enjoy this though, as I put a lot of work into rethinking the story.**_

_**Alexkellar: Well, like my cousin Kyle would say, "I'M BACKKKKK!" XD I hope you enjoy this extra-long Chapter. Also, through a Fairytail X Fate/Stay Night, I realized you had a Deviantart account and a lot of fantastic pictures based on many Fate and RWBY fanfics. But none for me T-T! **_

_**But seriously, I hope you enjoy the chapter and hope to see more pictures on your account!**_

_**So, with the reviews done and answered, let's head to this new chapter! **_

_**Loading File.**_

_**.**_

_**. .**_

_**. . .**_

_**Last time, we read as Link awoke within an empty plain, surrounded by the dust of all of his enemies! With another one disappearing in front of him, he turns to find the Blade of Evil's Bane had been closer than he had assumed. Hungry, hurt, and in need of rest, he fished and ate food, and treated his wounds, before he heard the sounds of gunfire. Tracking them, he found the three Bandits Mac, Mary, and Ed. Trying to follow them to find a map of the area, he is caught! How will he escape from their grasp? Will he discover where he truly is? Who is the leader of this Branwen Tribe? Let's find out!**_

_**.**_

_**. .**_

_**. . .**_

…

_**File Loaded.**_

_**Continue?**_

—_**[Yes]**_

_**No**_

* * *

_**Chapter 2: Hero's, Bandits, and Mages**_

It had been an hour since I had been caught by the three bandits. One hour of simply walking in multiple directions, as they tried to confuse my sense of direction within the forest.

One hour of having to deal with Mac keeping me at gunpoint, with Ed in front of me. All while Mary had tied a rope around my neck, pulling me around like some slave.

I sighed again, cursing whatever I did in a past life to deserve the luck I had now.

"Hurry up boy!" Mary called out in a sickening glee as if she enjoyed the fact that I was bound in rope. "We don't want to upset the Boss just because you took too long!"

I felt the unexpected pull of the rope, as it tightened around my neck, ceasing any breaths that I could take. I quickly moved forward, but the rope was still tight around my neck, making it hard to breathe.

"Good boy! Who's a good boy!?" She said tauntingly, patting my head like an owner would its dog. "Here's a treat for listening!"

With that said, she quickly grabbed the knot on the rope, loosening the rope. I took a deep breath, relaxing as I finally got my needed oxygen. All before she tightened the rope again, making it hard to breathe while making my world filled small black spots.

"Ah, ah, ah…" Mary began, wagging a finger as she walked backward, as I could almost feel the satisfaction from that act roll off of her. "Don't be too greedy now! We wouldn't want you to punished before the show begins. Well, maybe the boss doesn't..." She spoke under her breath, as I could see a gleam of anticipation grow within the twisted girl.

"Cut it out you sick, perverted freak!" Ed shouted from the front of the group, probably as sick and tired of this act as I was.

"What did you say?" The girl asked as she turned around, hand already on the double-barrel at her hip.

"I said cut it out!" The young man began, though he couldn't force down the chuckle within his throat. "I-if you wanna do something like that, do it when we aren't witnesses to your freakish kinks! We don't need any more campfire stories about you, little miss Bloody Mary!"

"Don't you dare call me that, you Hyena-faced bastard!" Mary cried out, her face going entirely scarlet in utter embarrassment, as I could only raise an eyebrow at the strange title.

Though, Ed began to nervously laugh at her, further angering the girl. "You think that's funny y-"

"Cut the shit, you two!" Mac shouted from behind me, making me cringe at the volume of his voice. "We're close to camp, and if I'm gonna get a headache, I gonna get it because I'm as drunk as a sailor! So shut it!"

With that, the group fell back into silence, as we made our way to this camp.

I sighed again, making sure I kept up with the girl and her makeshift leash. What I wouldn't give to just knock these three out and just leave. Of course, even if I wanted that, there were quite a few problems.

One, we're these hand cannons.

I had seen full well what these hand cannons, or guns as they called them, could do. They tore through Demon hide, and even demon armor with the ease of a simple pull from a finger. Though I was confident that I could take on any of these bandits, these guns could turn the entire battle.

Not only could they potentially kill me with a difficult to track, well-placed shot. They could even deafen me if I wasn't careful!

That wasn't something I was going to risk, and I was certainly going to hold off on that test for as long as possible. I didn't want to feel the smaller equivalent of an arrow moving at twice the speed pierce my skin.

Second…

I was still completely and utterly lost.

Mistral? Branwen Tribe? Guns? Hyena? Semblance?

I have never heard these terms, nor have I heard of these people or Kingdoms. They were alien to me, just as these trees were alien to the land of Hyrule, or the fish I had eaten earlier.

Which, once again, begged the question…

Where on the Goddesses green earth was I?

I looked to the sky, trying to find anything that may point me in the direction of where I was. Ancient Hylians were said to have used the stars to help them find their way back to Hyrule if they were ever lost at sea. I learned enough about constellations and stars to guide my way, in case I lost my compass.

But, once again, misfortune shown upon me.

Above me was not the pitch-black sky with brilliant stars, or the moon hanging prominently within it. Rather, it was a seemingly endless supply of clouds, blocking the sky, and any light that could shine down from it.

For the third time in two minutes, I sighed.

Even if I did escape, from both the Bandit Camp, these three, and the guns they carried, I would only be wandering around aimlessly. No Map, No Compass, no stars, and no landmarks to help guide my way.

I would be blindly trying to find both a Kingdom to remain safe from demons while I heal and find Zelda. Perhaps I may find her if I just wandered blindly, but how long would that take? A month, a year, maybe even a decade?!

No, Hyrule was already in a state of disrepair due to the countless Demons that roamed the land. Even worse, with Ganondorf dead, and the final connection to the royal family missing, there would be a power struggle!

For all I knew, there was already a war taking place for who would take the throne. And, with all the people in need of help and support, they may very well follow any Duke or Duchess who had saved enough wealth to fund such an excursion. All so they could return to some semblance of order, and finally, begin the repairs Hyrule so desperately needed.

So, there was no other choice.

I needed to find Zelda before I returned to Hyrule, or else the kingdom we had sacrificed life and limb for may be gone for good.

So, with that in mind, I had already begun to start the plan when I had been captured. All with a simple limp, and the occasional sucking of my teeth in pain.

The reason was simple. Though my injuries were apparent to anyone who looked at me, due to all the gauze on my arm, face, and head, they didn't know about the Dark Potion.

They thought that the reason I wasn't fighting back was that I was too injured too. It was probably the reason they didn't even try to disarm me. They didn't know that I was almost completely numb to this pain.

And there was no doubt that their boss would think the same thing. They would look down on me, giving me the opportunity for a surprise attack, and a likely chance to grab a map and find the closest city.

Though, knowing how such plans usually go… I may need to keep my mind open.

So, for now…

"Hurry up boy!" Mary began, pulling on the rope around my neck, as I had to force back a low growl.

I just had to bear with it.

* * *

Just like Mac had said, it didn't take long to finally get to their camp. Though, it was less of a camp and more of a well-guarded base.

I looked up at the twenty-foot tall walls, hidden within the trees. The walls themselves were sharpened on the top, a primitive but useful way to ensure no large creature climbs over the wall. I couldn't see the rest of the camp, however, as there was a large wooden gate in the way, enforced with bands of riveted steel.

It was makeshift and temporary, meant to be moved by a horse and wagon, or just abandoned if necessary. More hints to nature to the job of the three of bandits, as it was easy and cheap to make.

Though, I didn't have a lot of time to study the defenses and possible weaknesses of the camp. Rather, I had to focus on what seemed to be the guards for the entrance.

Though, I had to wonder why they seemed so injured. From what I could see from inside the camp, most, if not all of the Bandits, seemed to be nursing quite a few cuts.

"Mac…." One of the men at the gate began, limping forward with a raised eyebrow, looking directly at me and Mary with a raised eyebrow. When I say Mary though, I meant the leash that she was holding on to. "Care to tell me why Mary has some sort of Bondage Slave with her?"

Mac seemed to laugh at that comment, as Mary seemed fairly pleased with that statement…. too pleased. Ed, on the other hand, looked rather embarrassed at such a comment, as he looked away from the group.

"Never one to cut words, are ya Donald?" Mac began, as the one now known as Donald simply rolled his. Though, the laughter from Mac ceased, as he looked at me with a glare.

"This guy," Mac began, pointing a thumb at me while turning back to Donald. "Tried to follow us back to camp. Figured that whatever he wanted from us wasn't something that we'd be ok with."

Donald glared, turning his gaze towards me, examining every inch of me, as if searching for something. Though, it wasn't that hard to figure out what, as his eyes widened again when he saw the Master Sword.

"Why the hell is he still armed!?" Donald asked loudly, as his glare turned to my three makeshift Wardens.

Ed flinched at the loud voice, as he chuckled under his breath like a small whistle. Mary jumped at the sudden sharpness within his voice, almost an entire foot in the air. Mac and I, however, didn't move an inch, and merely raised an eyebrow.

"What are you talking about?" Mac began simply, as he stepped up to Donald, curiosity filled within his eyes. "Don't you see how injured he is?! Broken nose, head trauma, a broken arm, Hell, even a few broken ribs based on how he was breathing! Injuries like that against our entire camp?! Come on Donald!"

"Don't you 'c' mon Donald' me!" Donald began, glaring at Mac, aiming all of his hate straight into his eyes. "You know the drill! Unless given explicit orders, you need to remove any weapons on the prisoner's person!"

"Oh please," Mac started, crossing his arms as Ed, Mary, and I could only watch the exchange of words. "All he's got is a sword! I doubt he could even pick it up as he is now, much less remove it from his sheath!"

"Did you check to make _sure _all he had was a sword?" Donald asked, crossing his arms while looking me up and down, as if trying to find anywhere I'd stash a knife.

"Dear god, yes!" Mac began, more than likely tired of all the questions. "He only has the sword! Everything else is just food and water! Now can we please go into camp so we can start the show already!"

"...fine" Donald said simply, before looking towards my sword with a glare. "But I'm taking that sword. I don't want any more surprises today."

"Do whatever you want!" Mac said with a simple wave of his hand, walking towards the gate with a slow stride. "At least he's not my problem anymore!"

With what he wanted to say said, as he gave a loud, sharp three-note whistle.

That must've been the signal to open the gate, as I watch as the large and heavy gate was lifted. I couldn't see where the mechanism to open the gate was, so I was curious to how they had opened it.

That didn't matter at the moment though, as I could only watch as Donald moves behind me. Out of his eyesight, and still wrapped in rope by Mary, I could do nothing but sigh.

'_Looks like the plan just got a little more complicated…'_ I thought to myself, as the weight of my sword was lifted off my back….

But the sound of metal scraping against metal was nowhere to be heard.

"What the hell?!" I heard Donald whisper, as I could feel the larger man almost pull me up with my sword. I hissed in pain, as the strap attached to my scabbard dug into my broken ribs.

I looked over my shoulder, trying to figure out exactly what was happening. Though, all I could see was Donald's hand on my sword, trying to remove it from its scabbard. But, no matter how hard he pulled, the sword wouldn't budge, as if it were s-

"It's… stuck!" Donald shouted as he kept trying to remove my sword, lifting me up as he did. But, even my weight and his pulling combined couldn't free the Master Sword.

But I knew better.

The Master Sword wouldn't just let anyone wield it. The Blade would only ever let the Hero use its strength, and no one else. It has been that way for generations, and nothing had changed in this new country.

The blade wouldn't let itself be removed from my sheath, much like how it couldn't be removed from its pedestal. In fact, it was showing quite a bit of restraint, as I had watched it burn certain men and women for getting within an inch of its handle.

Perhaps… the blade knew my plan, and was holding itself back?

It wasn't that hard to consider, as, within all the stories I've heard of the Hero and The Blade of Evil's Bane, they spoke as if the sword was alive. As if there was a soul within the blade, that was forever loyal to the Spirit of the Hero.

Maybe they were true….

Those thoughts left me though, as I was dropped roughly onto my feet, the rope still around my neck still tight.

"Did he put some mechanism to keep his sword in?" Donald asked as I could feel him staring at my sheath, looking for an answer. "No, it's too thin to hold anything like that…"

Donald kept muttering to himself, as I heard someone giggle at me. I turned to Mary, the one responsible for such a noise, as it finally turned into full-blown laughter.

"No wonder you didn't put up a fight!" Mary laughed, as she pointed at me with a sinister smile. "You really are a dipshit, aren't you, denting your sheath so much you can't even remove the blade!"

With that, she laughed again, pulling on his makeshift collar towards the gate of the camp. Though, Donald didn't find it so funny, as he grabbed onto the girl's shoulder, holding her back.

"Wait just a minute!" Donald shouted, keeping his hand on her smaller shoulder. "We don't know that! He could just be tricking u-"

"Fuck off!" Mary said, brushing his hand off of her shoulder, and grabbing the gun at her hip. "You've checked his weapon, as well as his sheath, and you can't even pull it out! So stop wasting everyone's time, and let me take him to Raven!"

Donald and Ed took a step back, as Mary simply moved forward, taking me through the rather large gate. Why she wanted to hate me to this ' Raven' so quickly was a mystery, but I figured the less I could understand the girl, the better.

So, I instead focused on the camp around me, trying to find any structural weaknesses. But, rather than the base within the circular wooden walls like I had been expecting…

I only saw a recently raided camp.

Tents and storages that were once here were torn to the ground, claw marks covering almost every inch of the camp. Deep trenches were formed in what used to be stable and even dirt, no doubt formed by the demons that had raided their camp. Only on tent still stood, and that was a large red and grey tent that stood on a small wooden platform, the furthest away from the gate. No doubt, the one belonging to their boss, as it was in the most secure position if anyone were to invade, and was the best maintained.

The bandits, almost 40 of them from what I could count, were all working to get the camp built back up. Ten of them were working on a rather large hole on the left side of the camp. The rest were fixing the tents, putting them back up and sticking them together. They were all tan, and most importantly, injured.

Seems that they didn't take on whoever raided them without a fight.

But when they caught a glimpse of me, they all stopped and stared, before sizing me up.

I could feel their intense stares looking directly at my pouches, wondering what could be inside of them, and how much they were worth.

As I moved to the center of camp, every single one of the bandits followed, a grim smirk on their faces as they did. It was like they were expecting something, but what, he wasn't sure.

He got his answer soon though, as every bandit in the camp surrounded him as if waiting for something. Before he could question what was going on, Mary teleported behind him suddenly, grabbing him by the ear.

"Good luck," She whispered in his ear, as she kicked him behind his knee, forcing him to the ground. As I still needed to pretend I could feel this, I gasped in pain, with my ear still in Mary's hold. "Hope you survive the night."

With that, she walked off, giving me a wink that made my spine shiver in disgust. Though, that was the least of my worries, as I heard the cloth of a tent open up. I faced forward, towards the bosses red tent, studying what I may have to face.

The person within the entrance of the camp was a woman, the same height I was, though maybe a little taller. She was attractive, with short brown hair shaved down on the sides with lengthier hair on the top. Her skin was tanned, giving me the impression that she was often in the sun, which helped make her bright blue eyes all the more striking.

She wore a tan jacket, with its sleeves torn off and with the collar left up, accompanied by a choker with a buckle on it around her throat. The collar was then cut into a V shape, moving down far enough to expose her black undershirt and a bit of her cleavage. Her pants were a dark shade of red, held up by a belt with a pouch hanging off of it's left. Over those pants were what looked to be leather stoking, more than likely to cover her legs from any damage. Though, that was made pointless by her rolled up right pant leg, and matching rolled up a fingerless leather glove on her left hand, showing the skin of her leg.

Her other arm had the glove unrolled, moving all the way up to her elbow with a gauntlet covering her forearm. Her boots were an exact color match with her jack, beige with white cuffs, laced with white shoelaces, and topped off with a pair of rolled-up red socks. Though, my eye wasn't on her appearance or the fact that she was walking up to me, moving down the wooden steps...

Rather, it was the prominent tattoo on her left arm, depicting a phoenix rising from a bed of Spring Flowers. Though there was no color within or on the tattoo, merely different shades of black, it was beautiful.

My eyes were drawn to it, no matter how hard I tried to look away. It was as if she was calling attention to as if she were hinting at something she kept hidden.

Finally, she stepped up right in front of me, looking down as if examining a spot of mud on her boot. Despite being in what should have been a precarious situation, I simply looked up at her with a look of cold indifference. All as I tried to come up with a to escape, while trying to, at least, get a map.

"So this is him, hm?" She began, still glaring down at me as if I was some cockroach in her path. When she said that, she walked around me, studying me further. "The man that tried to break into our camp…"

As she did that, I simply stood myself up, my eyes never leaving the woman stalking around me. I also watched for any other attempts to try and make kneel, as that was not something I would let happen a second time.

With only one walk around, it seems that she had her fill, and glared back at me. I met the glare again, inclining my head ever so slightly to meet it straight on.

Though, that seemed to have the opposite effect, as she smirked at me.

"I was expecting someone a little taller."

The entire camp laughs at her comment, as I simply ignored the jeers from the crowd. Though, I couldn't hide the fact that my stare turned into a small glare grew, and a vein on my forehead throbbed.

'_Was I really _that _short?' _I thought to myself, as I tried to think back to all of the Hylians I've met in my life. But, that was on the back of my mind, as I kept creating plans to escape.

The woman, seeing that such a comment got to me, continued, as if daring me to make a move. Maybe she was trying to break my concentration, making it easier to get what she wanted. "And what's with all the green? Trying to blend in with the trees?"

Finally, I glared at the young woman in front of me, as the laughter from the bandits grew more hysterical. Though, that was to be expected from a foreign country, who never knew the legend. If only she knew how important this tunic was, and the symbol it represented in my people's eyes.

But, to these bandits from another country, it was merely a joke in their eyes.

Still, despite the words thrown at one of the most important figures in my culture, I ignored them. I simply stared forward, waiting for this 'Branwen' to show their face. Though she did seem respected among the bandits here, it wasn't a type of respect one would find in a leader.

"Ignoring me, huh?" The woman continued with a grin, still trying to throw off my concentration from what really mattered. Though, she didn't seem to like being ignored, as she tried to grab a fistful of my hair.

That wasn't happening though, as I simply caught her hand at the wrist with my own.

The bandits around me pulled out their weapons in an instant, pointing them straight at me without a second thought. Though, the woman in front of me simply smirked, gesturing for the bandits to lower their weapons.

"You're no fun." She told me simply, as I threw her wrist to the side. It didn't do much though, as she simply placed that hand at her side. "At least give m-"

"That's enough Vernal." The muffled voice of a woman spoke, as I heard the rustling of clothes from straight behind me. No doubt, that was the sound of all 40 bandits within the area stood a little straighter.

The woman, now known to me as Vernal, immediately responded, moving away from me. Not unlike a loyal knight, she moved to the side of someone new.

Though, this woman gave an entirely different vibe from Vernal. What with the mask she wore, covering her entire face.

The mask itself was entirely white, with red accents that were shaped in marks, not unlike the demons of this country. The mask itself was a complex work with multiple layers, and reminding him quite a bit of bird, no doubt a reference to her own name. On the mask were four black holes, two on top near where her eyebrows should be with scarlet 'eyes' within them. The two below that were no doubt where she looked through, as they seemed to be exactly where her eyes should be. Her neck was revealed though, showing five red beaded necklaces, and showed some of her collar bone. Behind the mask, her hair was tied back by a red ribbon, as the rest of her flowed down in a sort of feather-like pattern.

Her outfit was entirely made out of black a red cloth, in a strange style or dress that seemed somewhat familiar. From the shoulders, halfway down to her chest, was red along with the sleeves. Though, the sleeves stopped just before the elbow with black folds and black fingerless gloves that worked their way up and under her clothes. From her chest down, it was entirely black, with a matching black short skirt, and detached black leggings, reveal quite a bit of her pale thighs. Though, around her stomach was a deceptive red sash, with what seemed to be depictions of black tree branches and black distant mountains.

She even had a blade on her hip, which her arm rested upon, as she watched like a bird of prey.

No doubt, this was the boss of the Branwen Tribe, Raven.

"So," She began, the muffled voice from behind the mask, with confidence so high, it could've been mistaken for arrogance. "This is the man who attempted to sneak into my territory…" She finished, as she grabbed at the side of her mask, revealing what was under it...

As I mentally threw half of my plans out the window.

She revealed herself to be a beautiful woman, with skin almost too fair to be considered humanly possible. She was a woman that any artist would be proud to draw, with eyes containing a warrior's spirit, and a strong will to survive. But, that was exactly the problem, because those eyes…

Were the red eyes of a Sheikah.

But, that should be impossible. The Sheikah were a race of trained warriors and Assassins that served as the shadows of the Hylian Royalty. They were said to have been the handmaids of the Goddesses themselves, until Hylia came down in mortal form, and gave birth to the royal family. Because of that, they were gifted longevity, and stunning crimson eyes, that were said to pierce the soul of any who stood in the way of the crown.

But, those red eyes didn't lie. She was a Sheikah, and those clothes didn't help, as they were clothes that many Sheikah women wear within their clan. A Yukata, if he was remembering correctly.

But a Sheikah would _never_ wander far from the Royal Family, as it was their sworn duty to protect them from danger. It was drilled into them since a young age, and even beyond. Though some have left the Sheikah Clan, and that was the notorious Yiga clan, so it wasn't too far fetched to believe. But the Yiga have long since died out, killed off by the Hero of the Wild, and the Sheikah of the time.

Even still, if this really was some descendant of the Sheikah, then I was in trouble. With the gift of Longevity on her side, who knew how experienced she was with that blade on her hip. There was also the tools the Sheikah often used, and even the magic kept secret within their clan that she may know.

If I was going to get that map, I needed to be extremely careful. So I made sure to listen to everything she said, as this could be important to create a way out of here.

"Who are you then..." The Sheikah named Raven began, walking up to me with slow and purposeful step. "A little bird on Lionheart's shoulder, some new recruit of Ironwoods, trying to get on the General's good side?"

"Or maybe… Ozpin's new pet?"

I didn't respond, unsure as to who these people were, or what they meant to her. So, with such a lack of knowledge on how to answer those questions.

Though, despite not giving an answer, she didn't seem to mind. If anything, it seems that Raven was expecting something like this. "Whatever the case, it doesn't matter." She continued, her form still relaxed as she moved towards him. "Only a fool would try to waltz right into my camp, and despite his many problems, Ozpin does not hire anyone _that_ foolish. Though, my brother may be the only exception to that rule."

The bandits around me laughed, as I could only raise an eyebrow at her words. A brother? However, my eyes widened at the prospect, as I realized that he may be a Sheikah as well. Though, it sounded like they weren't on the same side.

If- _when_ I get out of here I should search for him. He may be able to help me find Zelda in this country and get back to Hyrule.

"So, If Ozpin didn't send you," Raven spoke up, as she stopped a few feet in front of me, her fingers dangerously close to wrapping around her swords handle. "Why have you come? What reason could you possibly have to risk entering my camp?"

The entire camp was silent, waiting to hear the reason for his attempt to trail Mac, Mary, and Ed. Though, I was quite stuck on what to say, whether it would be a lie of why I was here, or what I was trying to do.

Yet, since it couldn't hurt, I decided to tell the truth.

"I needed a healer," I told her simply, lifting up my broken right arm, while looking her in the eye. "And a map, if possible," I added, placing my broken arm back down, waiting for her answer.

Yet, the camp stayed relatively quiet, as they couldn't believe the answer I had given.

The moment of silence was over before it began though, as everyone laughed at my answer, thinking it was a joke.

Even Raven lifted an amused eyebrow and lip, despite being nothing but steady faced the entire time I had seen her. "A healer and a map?" She began as a chuckle was on the edge of her voice, along with Vernal. "You tried to sneak into _my _camp, the camp of some of _the _most infamous bandits in the Kingdom ... for a map."

She walked up to me, still almost chuckling at what every person there thought to be a joke. But, the look behind her crimson eyes was different. More like a bird ready to swoop down and feast on its prey.

I ducked before she even moved her arm back to strike me, as the arm sailed above my head. Before I could stand, she created momentum to kick me, giving me no chance to dodge due to her speed.

Before the powerful kick could land, I took a step forward from my crouched position. Then, with my right shoulder and left hand on her knee, the closest place I could reach without being indecent, and where the force of the attack was lower and tensed.

I felt the powerful force of the kick rush through my arm and shoulder, as I held it back with my braced footing. I was lucky though because if I was a second late, my head could have been struck by this strength, knocking me out for sure.

That was enough to stop all of the laughter in the area, as most people were confused. That was because it only took a blink of an eye for all of this to happen. Those who did see it though were shocked, as I simply pushed Raven's leg away from me.

It didn't seem to affect her at all though, as we simply stood up straight, staring one another down only a foot apart.

"Don't take me for a fool." She told me simply, glaring at me with the full force of her rage. "I know a Huntsmen when I see one, and only a well-trained Huntsmen could have seen that coming!"

"So, who sent you! Ozpin, Lionheart, or Ironwood!"

I stayed silent, as there was no answer that I could give that she would believe. Even if I told her that I was from a foreign land, I had no idea what these people would do to a foreigner. Though, I did notice that, for some reason, she was cautious of these Ozpin, Lionheart, and Ironwood guys.

Perhaps they were Bounty Hunters? Or maybe they were famous knights in the area, bent on taking her down? I couldn't be sure, not without more information. Though she did say that this 'Ironwood' was a general, so perhaps they were higher-ups in the Kingdom?

"No answer?" She asked me, still glaring at me with her crimson eyes, as her grip slowly tightened around her blade. "Maybe it really is them… Or maybe…"

Even though I knew what she was going to do, I didn't move.I didn't attempt to escape the crimson katana coming at my neck, as I knew she wouldn't do the dirty deed.

I was right to assume so, as only a centimeter from my neck, the blade stopped. Not even a hair was cut upon my head, as my blue eyes didn't even leave her crimson ones.

"Your working with Salem." She said simply, glaring into my eyes, as I glared back.

The area around me seemed to freeze as they heard that name, as he could even see Vernal's eyes shine in fear. Nothing dared to move at that name, as I could only ask one thing in my mind.

'_Salem? Who's Salem?'_ I thought to myself, avoiding any large breaths to avoid the sharp blade coming into contact with my throat.

"It makes some sense…" Raven started again, keeping her katana at my neck, ensuring that I couldn't move an inch. "The Grimm ambushed our camp by the hundreds last night, all as we slept. No one had a nightmare, everyone on watch was enjoying their free time, yet they were still attracted to something. And suddenly, you're here the next day, stalking around my camp, trying to sneak in. With no negative emotions present, why would the Grimm bother to attack us… unless someone told them to. And there is only one person who can control the Grimm…"

'_Control Grimm?' _I thought to myself, as I tried to connect something to what she was saying. Control Grimm…

The Demons?

Is that what she was talking about? Someone who could control the Demons? Like Ganondorf?

I shivered, though it wasn't visible to the human eye. Another Ganondorf, here? That was a recipe for disaster.

But, what would someone similar to Ganondorf want with a bunch of Bandits? What would this 'Grimm Controller' get out of raiding them?

"Yet, that still doesn't make sense…." She continued, unaware of the multiple thoughts running through my head. "Why would they send a broken Huntsman like you? Only one person against me? No, that plan would be too illogical, and…" She trailed off, looking back at Vernal, who was listening intently to Raven's theory, before turning back to me. "That leaves too many things to chance."

"So… the only other explanation…" She started to say, as the blade crept ever closer to my neck.

"Is that you, somehow, controlled the Grimm. At least, enough to lead them here."

I could see many wide eyes and quiet mouth work around me, as I only stared at her in puzzlement.

Me, controlling Demons? That was ironic. I, the Hero of Hyrule, practically being declared a Demon King. What on earth could I do to herd a bunch of Demons to this lo-

My eyes widened, as my mind flashed towards that large Wolf Demon earlier this morning. The one that had run from the very sight of the Master Sword…

The same sword that had killed hundreds of Demons, just last night...

"You force them on our camp at night, when we are at our most vulnerable, and follow the party we sent out to clear their numbers back here. Not bad. Though, it seems that in leading those beasts here, you were quite badly injured." She spoke, as she came closer, the base of the blade sliding across my neck, shaving off any peach fuzz that might have been there.

No….

Did… did I cause this? Did those Demons, when they saw the insane amount of kin that no doubt died from the Sword's mere presence…

Decide to run away as far as they could… Even going as far as to destroy any settlements that had been in the way…

The thought was mind-numbing, as I thought about the number of bodies that might have come from those actions. I tried to deny it, as it went against everything I knew about my two full years of slaying Demons that crossed my path.

But, those were the Demons of Hyrule… were these, 'Grimm' as Raven had called them, _that_ different. Were they capable of learning? Were they capable of emotions?

Did they _feel fear?_

I shook my head, focusing on the task at hand. These thoughts would be consulted later when there wasn't a sword at my neck.

Though, even if I could shove the thoughts of such things aside for now…

The guilt remained.

"So," Raven began, bringing her blade closer to my neck if that was even possible. "How did you do it…"

"How do I control the Grimm."

I stayed silent, even as the blade inches closer and closer to my throat. Once again, I had no way to respond to the questions given. I couldn't control these 'Grimm', and I certainly didn't lead anyone or anything here. In fact, there was quite a leap of logic in her train of thought.

So, with no way to escape the situation with actions, I simply used words.

"If I didn't know where this place was, how could I possibly send Grimm to smoke you out? Why wouldn't I just walk right in?" I asked her, calm and my voice steady, even with the blade at my neck.

The sword in her hand twitched, cutting slightly into my skin, drawing no blood, but still creating a small, barely visible wound. That was enough to tell me that I had shattered her argument, and giving me a chance to explain myself.

"I didn't send anything or anyone. I only want a map t-"

But, before I could even begin to explain…

Mac burst through the crowd, an angry glare within his eyes, and a bottle in his hands. "The map with all our raids!" He shouted out, not drunk from the alcohol, but enough to get him a buzz.

Everyone turned to look at Mac, even Raven and Vernal, as I could only stare at the man glaring at me. What in the name of Nayru was this man talking about?

"You were trying to weaken us with those Grimm, weren't ya you little shit stain!" Mac kept going, taking a drink from his bottle, before turning to all of his fellow bandits. "He was tryin' to weaken everyone here, including the boss and even the camp. That way, he could take whatever you want, including the map containing all of our planned raids! No doubt, that would've scored ya quite a hefty price from Lionheart!"

He could only stare in Mac's direction, as the man turned to him with absolute hate in his eyes. As if he had taken something away fr-

I recalled the conversation between him and the one called Ed, right as he flipped me off.

"_We lost three guys last night, two of which owed me over 3,000 Lien from our next raid. Lien that would have gotten me a nice vacation to the beaches of Mistral!" _

Was he… did he really think I was responsible for his lost trip to the beach?!

"I see…" Raven began to think out loud, as my head was still whirling about Mac's actions. "Take whatever you want… or, anyone. But…." She spoke up, as she glared at the side of my head, as I was still staring at Mac in disbelief. "Even shes not that confident. She would've sent others with you, and more than your run of the mill Ursa's and Beowulf's, even if they did number in the hundreds."

"Which brings me back to my question… How do I control the Grimm?!" She asked me again, this time putting the point of her blade directly on my carotid artery, making it so that the barest twitch would kill me.

Yet still, I stayed silent, keeping my head completely still to avoid the potentially fatal injury. There was no answer to give, and now, because of Mac, she believed her own story too much to change her mind.

With no answer, it seemed that this Raven has had enough of me.

"Fine then." She said, removing her sword from my neck, and making her way back to her tent, before standing in front of it. "If you won't simply tell me the information I want to know, we will do what we do best…"

"We'll take it from you."

She turns to her men and speaks in a loud voice so that all in the camp can hear her. "This is the man who caused the ambush on our camp last night, interrupting our sleep, and ending the lives of three of our men. _My _men! The one who had you all stay up the whole night, fighting off a Grimm attack, to take what we have rightfully taken!"

All of the men and women, who now seemed to understand what happened was supposedly his fault, glared. They turned to me with burning hatred, just as Mac did, with 80 eyes placed all on me.

"And I am willing," She began again, as she pointed a cruel smirk in his direction. "To let you all do whatever you want to him."

Suddenly, the anger in their eyes became cold glee, as I felt a shiver travel down my spine. Slowly and methodically, they removed their swords, letting the scrapping of metal filled my ears and travel down my spine. But still, none of them moved, as if they were waiting for some sort of signal.

Which they received without a moment's hesitation.

"Get me the information I want, and I'll give you anything from my personal treasury, and whatever he has on his person!" Raven shouted, sheathing her blade and taking a seat on the steps of her tent, content to watch. "Kill him, and you will suffer my wrath! Now…."

"Do whatever you want."

As if the bell had been rung, the bandits inched closer, waving their weapons around threatening. One of the women actually jumped over the group, trying to get ahead of the rest.

I dodged the strike, moving to the side, as the woman sailed past me. There was no time to relax though, as two men took her place, Scimitars in hand.

"Think of all the cash I could get!"

"You crazy!? I got that cash in the bag!"

"Give me his toes, I'll get the information out of him!"

All of these and more graced his ears, as I continued to dodge any and all attacks that came my way. From the knife of a rather woman to a Chain Sickle trying to wrap me up, they were all avoided.

But it was too much. There were too many men and women, all fighting to take my things.

I couldn't keep this up for long. Even with the Dark Potion, I could my injuries ache and scream for me to stop.

I reached for my blade, ready to fight back these bandits and escape this place. I could get a map anywhere so long as I found a Kingdom. But the greedy bastards never gave me a chance, as they attacked from all sides. They really were greedy…. Just like-

I felt my eyes light up, as I fought down a smirk. Why didn't I think of this before?

"Back off you piles of shit!" I heard Mac shout, pushing through all of the other bandits in an attempt to get to him."This guy owes me a vacation, and I'm gonna deck him until I feel it's worth the 3,000 I lost!"

It was amazing to watch, as I could only stare at Mac throwing people to the side like rag dolls. With no one able to hold Mac back, up to me a mighty fist…

As I pretended to get knocked down, prone and ready for a beating from all sides. And he would've continued to as well…

But, knowing that these guys weren't part Hyrule, and their currency seemed to be this 'Lien', I 'accidentally' dropped something on the ground.

If this Vernal woman couldn't recognize who I was by the signature tunic, and Raven couldn't see the fact that I was the Hero of Hyrule despite being a Sheikah, then they wouldn't recognize…

"Holy shit…"

"I-I-is that…"

"An Emerald!"

Everyone, even Raven and Vernal, could only stare at what could only be a fist-sized emerald on the ground. One that he was only able to fit in his pouch, due to the power of my Tycoon's Wallet.

I had to fight down a grin, as many of the bandits were looking shell shocked at what couldn't even get me a decent meal back home. Despite that, I made a desperate attempt to grab at it, before Mac bent over and picked it up.

"It can't be!" Mac began, laughing at the large 'jewel' within his hands, unable to believe it. "I-i-it's gotta be fake! R-right?!"

No one spoke a word, playing right into his hands by believing it was a precious gem.

Before, when Raven made the command to torture the deal out of me, she said that everything on my person would be given away. Before, it was assumed that it was just small cash, but they all fought for whatever Raven had too.

Now though…

Now I had the opportunity to make them rich beyond their wildest dreams.

"Oi Pluto!" One of the Bandits called out, as many tried to locate the man. "Use your Semblance! It's why we hired you!"

I almost flinched at that, as someone new stepped out of the crowd. So they had someone who could see if it was real or fake, huh?

A darker-skinned man with black hair and golden eyes walked from out of the crowd towards Mac. Before Mac could make a move, this Pluto grabbed it out of his hand, before his eyes started to glow.

I raised an eyebrow, as I watched the man work what could only be magic. He studied it, looking across every side of the Rupee, trying to find if it was actually real.

When his eyes stopped glow, every man and woman waited with bated breath for the verdict. As I stood up, ready to escape when they realized that it was f-

"It's real…" Pluto spoke up, as I froze with my back turned to the mage. I turned my head, looking just as shocked as everyone else, even if they didn't care one bit. "It's not glass or any other false way to create such gems. It's a real Emerald…"

Pluto took a glance at me, no doubt wondering why I was carrying such a thing with me. Even I was wondering if I had somehow mixed it up. However, his eyes shifted to my back, as they began to glow…

When I swore his glowing eyes would've popped out of his skull, as I merely quirked an eyebrow.

He fell down on his rear, as everyone could only stare at Pluto as if he were crazy. No doubt because his mouth was opening and closing so much, he might as well have been a Deku Baba.

"Pluto, what's wr-"

But, before anyone could speak further, he pointed at my sheath, as if he had seen a ghost. "G-g-gg-ggg-go..."

The bandits all had a laugh, thinking he was playing a joke. "What's wrong Pluto?" One of them asked, still laughing at what he assumed was supposed to be a funny joke. "He got something else one him that's worth a fortune?"

They all laughed again, as I assumed that, no doubt, no one would have so many expensive things on them.

But all of that stopped, when Pluto said one word, still pointing at my sheath.

And that word was-

"Gold…"

No one said a word. No one even bothered to breathe, as I felt more than an eighty eyes stick to my sheath. And, If I wasn't the one holding said sheath, I would've stared at my sheath too.

I remember the sheath, which I had received immediately as soon as I had pulled the Master Sword from its pedestal. A sheath that matched the purple of the Master Swords guard, with intricate gold colored patterns and the Triforce featured near the center of the sheath.

It's very existence seemed to be attached to my Sword, as it had appeared from thin air when I pulled it from its pedestal.

But still…

'_We're my ancestors insane!?' _I thought to myself, as what could only be described as pure greed formed in everyone's eyes. '_Who places so much gold on something as simple as a Sheath!?"_

I had always thought it was gilded bronze, not actual gold! No wonder all of these thieves tried to take his sword! Wait… were my Golden Gauntlets made of gold too?!

I let those thoughts slide out of my mind, as I focused more on the current situation. It didn't matter what weapons he had were made of gold or not. Though he would have to make sure they were placed under higher protection when he got out of this...

In fact, this only made my plan much more likely to work.

And work it did.

"The Golds mine, jackass!"

"You wish, you whore!"

"If anyone is taking it, it's me!"

Like rabid dogs after the last scrap of meat, everyone began to turn on one another. No one was willing to think rationally, as the offer of a lifetime stood before them, beckoning them to a better tomorrow.

All without realizing they were being played by their own greed.

I could only watch this bloodbath, as every cheap trick in the book was used. Dust in the eye, grabbing hair, tripping, everything was used in an attempt to take the priceless sheath on my back.

All as both Vernal and Raven looked upon their group with disdain. It appeared that they had forgotten that they ran a bandit group, that only ran smoothly due to greed. It seems they haven't seen how far that greed could go.

As the bandits fought, I focused on their fighting styles, hoping to observe them. Not all of these bandits could be prodigies in the way of fighting, as that would be an absurd requirement to join. More than likely, since that Mary woman called this a Tribe, many may have been born into this life.

Meaning, their leader would have had to teach them how to fight. And the many quirks of their leaders fighting style would've been passed on when taught. When to strike, how they strike, the way they swing their swords, all could give him a blurry image of how their leader fought. Though it wasn't a perfect assumption, it was the only way I could prepare to face Raven.

But that all flew out the window when I saw a man take a sword to the neck with little more than a bruise.

What in Din's name was that?

I shifted my focus from their style of fighting, to where they were being hit. These bandits, could they possibly be…

I watched it happen again, as a woman used her fingernails to try and claw out another's eyes. Focusing closer, I watch as what could only be colored smoke solidify, and block the attack. It absorbed the force almost perfectly, as the man still screamed in pain at the attacks on his eyes.

This was…

'_Nayru's Love?'_ I thought to myself, further focusing on the damage the bandits attempted to bring upon one another.

No… it was similar but too different from the spell Zelda used. Where she could create a perfect barrier to protect herself from any danger, these bandits were taking damage left and right. Where she could change its shape and size at will, they seemed to only be able to protect themselves.

Perhaps this was special magic, only used wherever I was? Maybe it was some sort of magic item they held?

But, it didn't feel like magic.

Though I never could use magic without the help of items, or special sword techniques, I knew magic when I saw it. Zelda had practiced and explored many spells in our travels together, including healing and the Three Sacred Magic's.

When I watched Zelda use magic, it was like watching her work together with the very Goddesses themselves. Using the laws that Nayru had created for the world, as well as energy I could not hope to describe together to give her abilities beyond the physical. It was how she produced fire from her fingertips with a thought, or had the wind guide her to a new location, or even form barriers that could defend against incredible attacks.

But these bandits had none of that.

Instead, they seemed to ignore the balance of the world, the Gods, and even this unseen energy needed to use magic. He couldn't explain it, but they were using something… else. Something weaker, simpler, and…unstable compared to the energy Zelda used.

To put it simply, the energy Zelda used was like Hyrule Castle. It was powerful, sturdy, and could stand for thousands of years with barely a scratch.

The energy these bandits used was like a small shack. Given enough time, it could turn into something usable, but it could be destroyed and would need to be built all over again.

My thoughts were interrupted by a strike of lightning hitting the ground before and a roar.

"ENOUGH!" Vernal shouted out, with a hand gesture in the direction of the lightning bolt.

It was like the entire bandit camp was frozen in ice. Everyone wouldn't dare to move a toe out of line or even take a breath knowing that their second in command was furious with them.

I was the only exception, as I simply sighed in relief, despite the pain in my ribs. Though, not for the reason all of these bandits might think I was relieved.

"Are you fools are too blind to even realize you're being played!?" Vernal. "The prize of a lifetime for our Tribe and all you can do is tear at each other's throats! None of you deserve such a prize!"

The bandits hung their heads and looked away, having the decency to look ashamed of themselves.

With that completed, he watched as Vernal walked up to him, a furious rage in her eyes. I met such sharp eyes head-on as if to challenge the woman before me.

This challenge was met with a glare, as she grabbed a handful of my hair and pulled me to my feet. It would've hurt like hell without the aid of the Dark Potion, but it still felt like someone was trying to pull off my scalp.

When I was on my feet, she stared at me straight in the eye and asked me the same question.

"How did you bring the Grimm here?!" She asked simply, raising me a little higher with my hair still in her hands.

In a simple retaliation, I used my right leg and toes to hook onto the crook of her knee. When it was attached, I turned my hips and bent my own leg. With all of the force I had gathered, it was a simple task to bring her to a knee.

She grunted as soon as she fell, not out of pain but rather surprise.

With the pain across my scalp gone and Vernal kneeling, I took my left hand, twisted her wrist, and pressed two fingers into said wrist. Her hold loosened drastically, as I escaped her grasp and jumped back a good few feet.

I looked around in a forced panicked gaze, trying to find some way to escape this camp. But, on every side I could see, was a circle of Bandits watching this 'torture session'. They made a sort of ring around us, so that I wouldn't escape, and would have to face the second in command.

Vernal stands, laughing. "That's it? Not gonna attack? Or were you just trying to run away?"

She and the rest of the bandits laughed, as they continued to watch and enjoy the show.

With no avenue to escape from, I turned to face her, placing myself into a stance and preparing for any attack she could throw at me.

"What?" She taunted, standing relaxed right in front of him as if taunting me to attack her. "Not going to draw that fancy sword there?"

If it were any other situation, I would've done exactly that. But….

"He can't!" I heard Mary shout from over the crowd, her face still plastered with that sadistic smile. "Must've bent the sheath and trapped the sword inside!"

"I see…" She began, turning to me with a grin as if she thought of a fun idea. Which, was actually good for me...

So long as they didn't think I could fight against them, they would just play around with me. Giving me more time to surprise attack her with a surprise attack.

"Well than…" Vernal began, pulling something out from behind her back, which shouldn't have been there. Then, before his very eyes, it seemed to transform, changing shape into a ring. A weapon that, if he recalled currently, was called a Chakram, though this one seems modified with a gun. And, of course, sharp blades and hooks, meant to tear through and stick into flesh.

Then, with those two chakrams, she threw them to the side of the makeshift ring, where they sunk into the dirt with ease.

"Let's see what this pretty boy can do in a fight."

Before I could even say anything, Vernal rushed me with an obvious haymaker, in a speed that shocked me considering she seemed not as muscular as many of the other bandits. Luckily, it was nothing that I couldn't handle, as I simple dodged to the side.

She didn't stop the punch though, as her fist struck the ground, crushing the dirt and grass beneath it into a small crater. My eyes widened, seeing the strength she held with only her hands. Though, it seemed that this barrier surrounding her was part of the reason why her body was so strong, to begin with.

I stayed back, letting her just tire herself out, as she kept trying to attack me. Staying far enough would force her to chase after me to even require a chance to attack me.

So, when she rushed me, form wide open for a punch to my gut, I simply rolled under her. I didn't need any more injuries, and her barrier would absorb any attack that I could throw at her.

What I didn't expect was the line of bandits around me, pushing me back to the center of the arena.

With the sudden push, I was incredibly off-balance, as I was mere seconds from falling over. Though Vernal was quick to grab me with one arm around the neck, choking me till I couldn't breathe. Before I could even try to break her grip, I felt her other fist drive right into my back.

I groaned at the strike, as I felt my kidneys begin to bruise heavily. Though, for some reason, many of the bandits around me could only look on in confusion. Still, it was incredibly painful, as I moved my good hand into the crook of her elbow.

Before she had any idea what was going on, I crushed my fingernail into the tendon in her elbow. Though the barrier around here absorbed the force of any strike, the pain was still in place. It wasn't a perfect shield against every attack.

It was why she let go of my neck, giving me air and a chance to counter-attack.

Still in pain from my painful attack, I did a simple sweep kick, knocking her off balance, giving her no chance to dodge. Rising from the sweep kick and with all of my momentum, I kicked her hard enough on the head to give a normal Hylian a broken skull and a shattered neck.

If it weren't for this countries magic, that might've been how it played out.

I felt the impressive density of this barrier around her, as the bridge of my foot already began to bruise heavily, even through my thick leather boots.

I watched as with no control over her body, Vernal flipped three times through the air, no doubt from the force of my kick. Many of the bandits tried to catch her, just like they did me, but they fell with ease.

I landed on my feet, cringing as I felt the sore pain in my left foot. It was like I had just tried kicking a thick stone wall at full force, with my barefoot.

Vernal though, she simply stood up without any problems, not even dizzy from the attack. If I looked hard enough, I might be able to see the bruise through her hair.

"Well…" Vernal began, brushing herself off, showing off just how ineffective my attack was. "Run out of Aura trying to wrangle those Grimm here, boy? Or did that punch just shatter it all together?"

I resisted the urge to raise an eyebrow. Aura? Was this what was defending them from attacks, and had practically shattered my foot? Wasn't Aura just a term to describe the energy one's soul gave off?

"Either way," She began with a grin, in a fairly relaxed stance, as if she knew she was going to win. "This is going to be fun."

As she said that, she began to circle me like a predatory bird, not unlike the tattoo on her left arm. She found pleasure in my weakness, no doubt hinting at her sadistic tendencies. Though, it seemed she wasn't someone who often went hand to hand, as the punch's she threw was practiced but not experienced. Not to mention the Chakram she wielded, hinting at her preferred style of fighting, which used ranged attacks with her staying away from hand to hand combat.

If it were any other person, even without my sword, I could've wiped the floor with her.

Though nowhere as talented as I was with a sword, I often practiced kickboxing on the side. I knew how to dodge and punch with simple ease, getting some powerful blows In case some ever disarm me.

However, such a style wouldn't work here, as striking her with this Aura around her would only mean trading damage. My arms and legs would be bruised to the point that they would be of no use before I could do any damage against her.

And, if I revealed that I could draw my sword, I would be at a further disadvantage due to her ranged style of fighting, even with my increased damage. Without any of my other weapons, I could only hit her if I ever got lucky.

So, I had to find a way to hit her _through _the barrier, without the use of my sword. And there was such a way, though the chances of it happening were slim, to say the least. But…

It would give me a chance to end this and get exactly what I want.

So when she came at me for another punch my gut…

I didn't bother to move until the absolute last second.

Before the punch could connect, I flexed my stomach to help absorb any damage I might have gotten. Then, as the punch attempted to connect, I folded myself over, as if I really was struck by her fist.

The fist, which would've stuck with the force of a Goron, softened to the point of getting hit by a small stone.

The bandits around the both of us cheered and jeered, as Vernal could only smile at the blood I had spit-up. Though, said blood was only what I could suck out of the small cut inside my cheek, and a collection of saliva. The illusion made better by the still present color of the Dark Potion staining my cheek.

And so, the plan went into motion.

From my curled up position, still standing and acting as if I had been struck hard, Vernal grabbed the front of my Tunic with her left hand. Pulling me up, and looking to simply punch me in the face as much as she could.

The first punch went directly to the right side of my head, as I simply let her knuckles digging into my cheek, before turning my head. Giving her the impression that I was being struck, while minimizing my own injuries.

As she kept striking, and I kept acting, I thanked whatever luck shined down on me that Vernal wasn't a brawler. If she was, then she could instantly tell that these strikes weren't doing anything, just by the feel of the punch.

Though, even she would get suspicious if I simply kept taking the punches.

So, as she began to strike me again, I grabbed her wrist and twisted it painfully. She let go, her hand unable to bend in the direction I was twisting, and I was free once again.

With no chance of any strike doing any lasting damage with that Aura in the way, I couldn't attack with all my might. So, I used her own strength against her.

I let go of her wrist, as she went for another strike, putting as much power as she could into that fist. As it went for my nose, I grabbed her arm and fell backward, placing my foot on her stomach and the tip of my shoe directly into her diaphragm.

With that, Vernal was launched into the ground by her own strength, but she tried to get up as fast as possible. Moving quickly, I flipped in the air, using the force of my motion and my weight deal a heavy strike to the head, exactly where I had hit her just before, as she tried to stand.

It worked well, but now the back of my foot was bruised, making my whole right foot ache in pain. I cringed at the feeling, as Vernal used that chance to strike.

Barely even breathing heavy from the strike on her diaphragm, she quickly stood with a sinister smirk. Before I could stand and defend myself, she kicked me right in the back of the head.

Seeing this, I went back to the act and rolled forward with the kick. I rolled once, feeling the bruise forming on my head, and quickly half rolling before falling on my face.

I heard all of the bandits laugh, as they watch the supposed one-sided battle. As they did, I attempted to stand, but still acting like had gotten struck hard in the head, I purposefully fell again. This brought an even bigger fit of laughter from everyone as if they were watching a baby deer trying to stand.

I took a glimpse back at Vernal, seeing her take pleasure in my humiliation. Not that I cared, as this only helped me in the long run. Even Raven could only enjoy the show, as she sat on the stairs to her own tent

Though that was good, this needed to be finished quickly, before anyone noticed the lack of bruises from what should've been heavy strikes.

Acting as if the humiliation was getting to me, I stood up tall, turning to face the woman who was my opponent. Only to fall to one knee, breathing heavily, and gasping for breath, grabbing at my chest as I did so.

That is what I wanted them to see, rather than my legs tense and ready to rise as fast as possible.

Seeing my weakness, Vernal acted exactly as I had expected her too. With a smug smile, and a sinister glint in her eye.

"That's it?" She spoke, her voice directed to everyone within the camp, as she slowly walked up towards me. "This is all you have? Three strikes on me, and a lot more on you, and you're already down for the count? You challenged me to this fight, and you can't even bruise me?"

I stayed still, pretending to gasp for breath, waiting for the right words to strike back at her with, and the right moment. All of my muscles prepared to give a strike much more powerful than any of my other strikes.

I could practically feel her disappointment as I didn't move so much an inch. Even more at the fact that I didn't seem to respond to her insults at all. She thought the fight was over, she had relaxed, thinking she had won. She had moved closer, wanting me to hear the next words she had to say.

That was why she lost.

"You're path-"

When she spoke those words, I rose faster than any shooting star in the sky, never giving her a chance to defend against my uppercut. When I struck, I felt the Aura around her absorb most of the damage. In fact, the strike was so powerful, I could feel the skin around my knuckles peel and bleed against this Aura.

But, with that one strike…

"_AUGHHHHHHHH!"_

I had won.

I watched as she flew backwards from the hit, large amounts of blood seeping through her lips. When she landed, her muscles were still taunt in unimaginable pain, as she brought both of her hands to her mouth. But, even with her mouth covered, I could hear the screams of pure agony and watched as tears escaped her eyes.

To the side, I heard something land on the grass, as all of the bandits, including Raven, could only stare. Despite knowing what it was, I looked down at the object…

And saw a centimeter of Vernal's still wet tongue next to me, limp and cut straight off.

"H-h-How…."

No one could say anything, no one even knew what to call what had just happened. '_How could her tongue have been cut off?' 'She was protected, she shouldn't even be able to get hurt!'_ These were no doubt the thoughts that ran through these bandits minds.

But, it seems they had forgotten one thing…

This 'Aura', was a barrier _around _the body, not inside of it, and was the only relation to Nayru's Love. Even if it did absorb the damage she would've taken from the uppercut, it didn't absorb the force of the strike. Rather, her jaw did. And with the amount of force I hit her with, her jaw clamped straight down on her tongue, cutting it clean off.

There were many reasons why, in many combat schools, speaking during spars was a forbidden action. One of those reasons was your tongue.

Biting off your tongue could have you dead from shock, drowning in your own blood, and even suffocating on your own tongue. Even with a healer on the scene, it was considered one of the worst fatal mistakes in combat. Even after you were healed, you were never able to speak or taste correctly ever again.

It was an injury that could affect your entire life.

That's why so many of the bandits reacted in panic when I stood over Vernal's body and kicked her in the nose.

The horrible snap was heard by the entire camp, even if the scream that followed it was barely understandable. Despite the shout, I watched as Vernal's eyes rolled into the back of her head. She was out like a light, with barely any way to keep herself breathing for the next few minutes.

If she wasn't treated immediately, she could die of blood loss, or retain permanent mental damage due to both airways being blocked. And I was standing over her, still in a fighting position.

It didn't take a genius to recognize my demands.

Either I was healed, or Vernal was dead. Simple, and without any room for bargaining due to the time limit she had.

The rest of the bandits were frozen stiff, as one of them rushed to the girl's side. Most likely the one who could save her life and heal me.

But, I had other problems to worry about, as the bandits weren't simply frozen at the prospect of losing their second command. Rather…

It was their leader that had struck fear into their hearts.

Feeling the hairs on my neck stand on end, I backflipped over Raven's blade, dodging a blow that would've bisected me. Even still, I could feel the incredible rage forming behind the leader's eyes. So much rage, that she overshot her target, almost cutting one of her subordinates head clean off.

As soon as I landed, I stared into the red eyes that promised me death, as the healer seemed to go to work on Vernal. It seemed that whatever information she had wanted from me was deemed unimportant compared to an attempt on Vernal's life.

A feeling that I could empathize with.

She said nothing, as she simply rushed me with a vertical strike, creating a crater upon the ground beneath her when she did. I could feel the intent coming off of her blade as if it was ready and willing to end my life.

Exactly how I had planned it.

Grabbing my sword, I spun left, dodging the very telegraphed attack with a practiced ease. I watched as Raven's eyes widened, shocked to see me dodge an attack she had no doubt put all of her speed and strength into. Her sword had yet to strike anything, as in my eyes, it seemed to be falling slowly to the ground.

Before she could blink, I drew my sword, using both my force and the speed and strength of her own attack against her. With the blade drawn, I swung it down diagonally, in between the base of her neck and shoulder, as the angle would have slashed her all the way down to her thigh.

I felt the impact of my blade against her Aura, as the resistance was quite powerful, and made my hands shake. In fact, if I knew it was just my imagination, I had thought I saw sparks fly from where I struck.

Raven seemed to smirk, confident that she would just brush off this attack, and ready to chop off my head with ease. She twisted her blade, ready to aim for my neck...

Only for her Aura to shatter not a second later, as my blade cleaved through everything.

Her armor split before my strike, her clothes offered no protection, and her skin was not far behind. But, my blade didn't stop, as her collarbone shattered into a million pieces, and two of her ribs were cut in half. Finally, the blade got caught within her sternum, as I felt the tip of the blade scrape against her heart.

Everything was still, as I pulled the tip of my blade from within her body. It would've taken a while if I hadn't shattered her sternum, along with cutting a huge chunk of it almost clean off.

It was only when I removed the blade, did Raven seem to react to what had just occurred. Exactly how I expected her too, honestly.

She screamed in pain, as blood quickly oozed out of the large open wound. With almost all of her strength gone and every breath she took well beyond painful, she fell to a knee. She brought her left hand to her fresh wound, as if in an attempt to close it or keep her body together.

And, in a way, she was lucky. At least, luckier than most who've met their end against that technique. After all…

There was no defense for this technique. For the Mortal Draw deals death.

It was only because of the combined factors of me being only able to use one hand, and this Aura taking quite a bit of the damage. It was the only reason why she was alive at the moment. Especially since what I had used against her was nothing more than a bastardized version of the Mortal Draw.

If I was able to use my body fully, then she would be nothing but a corpse on the ground, her entrails staining the grass.

Yet, I only used this technique _because_ I was sure it wouldn't kill her.

Despite being the Hero of Hyrule, defender of the Kingdom, and sworn protector to the country, I never liked killing people. I knew it was a foolish thing to think, even when faced with people who would gladly kill me with a knife in my back.

Sure, I knew some people _needed _to die, Ganondorf being a prime example of this. Despite that, I would usually just knock people out and force them to face justice in the old fashion way.

I knew that doing such a thing didn't always work and that it could sometimes lead to more problems than solutions, but I stuck with it. I was against murder, plain and simple, but I knew when it was necessary to compromise such beliefs.

Besides, in this new country, I was not the 'Hero'. I was just Link.

So, even if I had gone and killed Raven, I would simply be arrested for murder. Though, I guess that depended on how wanted this Branwen Tribe was.

I shook my head, clearing it of all of these unnecessary thoughts. I was speaking as if Raven was beaten, and that was a dangerous thought. Even with her wounds, I had to prepare for anything she could throw at me.

I placed my sword upon Raven's neck, standing behind her so she couldn't make a move that I couldn't react to. Then, being careful not to let her out of my sight, I looked towards the bandit camps healer.

He was hovering over Vernal, with a look that could only be described as pure shock. I took a quick glance at the now mute girl, seeing that she was pale, but healed if the lack of blood coming out of her open mouth was any indication. Though, it seemed that this healer specialized in open wounds, as the girl's nose was still broken.

I sighed, realizing that their healer wouldn't be able to heal most of my injuries, as I only had one wound that wasn't a broken bone. Though, if I got a map and some sort of landmark, I would be one step closer to finding Hyrule.

So, before Raven got any ideas, I was about to demand a simple trade, a map for their leader.

That is before I felt the hairs on the back of my neck raise, and the feel of static in the air.

Before I even knew what was happening, I trusted my instincts and rolled to the side, dodging a lightning bolt that came from Raven's back. It was close, as I could feel arcs of electricity contact the tip of my sword and ran up my arm. Yet, I managed to dodge with no injuries, before quickly standing and facing my opponent

Just as I did, I felt a sudden chill wind, as the wound on Raven's shoulder was encased in ice, forcing a shudder through the woman's body. With her large wound closed in a trail of bloody ice, she turned to me with a powerful glare.

Though I was focused more on the red flames that had sprouted out of her eyes, and the feeling of magic overflowing from her body.

"You're dead."

My eyes widened, as Raven charged me with the intent to kill, sword slicing through the air. Though only her left hand was on the handle, due to the right being unusable, so it was slower than it usually was. Still, that was enough, as I could see the arcs of electricity flowing across the blade.

With no time to do otherwise, I simply blocked her blade with the flat of mine, feeling the electricity trying to move through my nerves. With no arm to move and my legs to busy absorbing the force of the blow, I had no other choice. As quickly as I could, I head-butted the woman, feeling my forehead smash into her nose.

She cursed, as involuntary tears welled in her eyes, making her vision blurry. She even let up, the force behind the blade weakening, along with the electricity. Using that to my advantage, even with the horrible headache from slamming my head directly into her Aura, I let her blade slide off of my sword, letting her pass as I attempted a swipe at her back.

Such a strike was blocked though, even though her blurry vision, as she jumped back, getting some air. Using that air, she focused on my location, as an incredible chill seeped into the air.

I ran forward, charging her as fast as I could, as I heard the sudden and familiar sound of ice springing up behind me. I developed a sudden chill, remembering the many ice enemies I had fought on my path.

Despite that I charged forward, using my blade attempt and cut into the already damaged parts of her body. She saw this coming though, parrying and striking back against that attack.

What came next could only be described as a flurry of blows, no one opponent getting the better of another. When she attacked, I let her attacks slide of my blade, and used that as an avenue for attack. She would block that attack, however, and go straight for a killing blow, trying to end this fight quickly.

Still, it seems she really was looking down on me. Instead of using her obvious incredible magic power, she instead tried to finish me off one on one. Though, I held the upper hand, as my injuries were far less extensive than the ones I had given her.

No doubt she was running completely on adrenaline to keep herself fighting.

It wasn't too long into the battle before she charged at me though, giving quick strikes filled with rage. Each of them aimed at my thigh and neck, ready to sever an artery.

I quickly defended against the first two strikes, as I didn't have enough time to dodge backward with my damaged leg and foot. I came to regret not trying though, as I felt the electricity force it's way through my system. The muscles in my left arm tensed unnaturally, almost curling up against my chest, no matter how much I resisted.

Seeing this, and realizing I couldn't block or dodge the attack, Raven went for an obvious stab to my heart. No doubt aiming for the hole in my chain mail and tunic, the path of least resistance.

With no way to block the final blow and no way to dodge, I had to break the flow of combat. So, before the blade could reach my chest, I bent my legs and rushed forward.

The top of the blade brushed against my left cheek, as the tip of the blade sailed just under my ear. A perfect way for the thin blade to slip in between my ribs strike any of my organs, if I had given it the chance.

Before Raven attempt to pull the blade back or dodge, I wrapped my arms around her midsection. Though my right arm screamed in pain, even though the effects of the Dark Potion, I held on, lifting her up as much as I could. With no way to resist, I pushed her to the ground, slamming her back into the dirt.

All of the air in her lungs forcefully escaped, as I could practically hear the cracking of the rest of her sternum. The pain caused her eyes to glaze over, as I too almost gasped in pain from my right arm being crushed under both our weight. Though I held strong, gritting my teeth and making it to my knees. It didn't take much to pull my sword out from under her, as she weighed as much as I did without the extra layers and chainmail.

With no room to use the blade on her, I simply used the pommel of my sword to strike her in the ice-covered shoulder. A loud crack accompanied my strike, as the ice shattered into sharper, smaller splinters. Striking it again, Raven seemed to escape her daze enough to scream in pain, as those splinters of ice embedded themselves into her skin.

With only one arm that she could use, Raven did the only thing she could do. She put her feet on my stomach from under me, creating spikes on the soles of her feet, and kicked as hard as she could.

Feeling the ice trying to pierce my skin and chainmail, I leaned back, using the force of her kick to launch myself backward and above her. Though I couldn't escape without any injuries, as the sharp ice was thin enough to make it through a bit of my chain mail. I felt the holes form in my stomach before it went to deep, and the ice stuck into my chainmail. Despite that, using my own control over my body, I righted myself in mid-air, before pointing my sword straight down.

However, before I could pull off the Ending Blow, she rolled out of the way, grunting as she had to roll over her injured arm. Thus, I missed and felt the blade sink into the solid earth with ease.

Quickly trying to release my sword from the earth, I turn my head to see what Raven was planning. I wasn't shocked to find her on one knee, facing me with her blade covered in electricity in hand. Before she even stood properly, she rushed me, intent on bisecting me with her sharp blade.

I would have none of that though, as I finally released my blade from the earth, before turning and blocking the attack. However, my feet met resistance, as I felt a chill creep up my legs.

I didn't need to look down to realize that I was frozen to the ground. I attempted to break the ice with my strength, but there wasn't enough time to do that _and _block the attack.

So I did neither.

With my knees still exposed, I bent them down and put as much power as I could into my legs. I was lucky that the ice and Dark Potion completely numbed my feet, and leg, as I felt close to no pain. Then, just before she could connect her attack, I jumped and did a backflip, getting out of reach for an attack.

With the force of the jumping not enough to crack the ice, I should've stayed there and taken the attack. But, in the woman's rush to kill me, she didn't freeze the ground around my feet.

So when I jumped, I simply pulled both the ice around my boots and the dirt that was under them.

Unable to stop both her rush and the widening of her eyes, she practically flew past me. As soon as I had landed, the ice shattered over the grass, releasing the dirt that stuck to the soles of my boots.

Raven turned to me, her glare still holding all of her rage and the glowing red flames within her eyes. Even from the distance between us, I could feel that she had had enough of our little battle.

Without warning, the flame around her eyes seemed to glean ever so slightly, as the hairs on my neck stood on end. I felt an incredible energy flow through the woman, listening and shaping to her very will. Before I could even blink, the energy became visible as pure black clouds, filled to the brim with blue lightning.

And from what my instincts were telling me, it was enough to turn any man into nothing but bones.

She charged the energy even further, no doubt using everything she had to end my life right then and there. Like an insect on the dirt. I had no time to run, as every wall within this camp blocked my way, leaving me trapped with this impossibly large energy.

I was trapped.

She smirked slightly, thinking that this battle was over, as all of that energy finally finished pooling into the clouds.

Without a word, she released the lightning, as the incredible energy seemed to scorch the air around me. Every hair on my body stood on end, and the air I breathed in seemed to burn like a thousand suns. The arcs of lightning were so powerful that they even upheaved the earth around me, forcing dust to fly in the air.

And, with one last attempt to stop such an attack…

I raised my sword,

I felt the lightning strike, as the unbelievable current of energy moved through the steel with ease. I was shocked to find though, that there was little force behind the magic attack, but rather just pure energy, attempting to kill me.

I saw my life flash before my eyes, as the flash of the lightning nearly blinded me, and the horrendous thunderclap deafened me. The smell of ozone was all I smelled, so much so that it was a physical taste on my tongue. I even felt some of my hair singe at the temperature of the lightning.

Even my body felt the current of electricity, as white-hot agony spread through every pore of my body. I felt parts of my skin burn off, as the dirt around me simply exploded do to the pure amount of energy flowing through it.

But it was the feeling of touch that told me I was alive, as I felt something resist the incredible energy of all that magic.

Despite my nervous system no doubt being a wreck due to all the electricity, I could feel all of that heat disappear. I felt the incredible thrum within my hand, as I felt all of that energy flow into my blade, containing it with ease.

I could feel all of the energy, the energy that could kill me a hundred times over in my hands. It was like holding the sun within the palm of my hands and using it however I pleased.

It was incredible, intoxicating…

And completely nauseating.

I fell to one knee, as I stabbed my sword, and the incredible energy it held, into the ground. The entire world seemed to spin, as my mind tried to recognize that I was indeed still alive.

I looked down at my sword, peering through the small multicolored lights in my eye, and the incredible amount of dust.

It looked like it always had, peerless, with no sign of the incredible energy anywhere to be seen.

As soon as I could feel my legs again, I forced myself to stand up. The blade followed without any effort, feeling as light as a feather when the rest of my body felt like a ton of bricks.

It was only when I stood up that I realized how exhausted I felt. My breath came out in gasps, with my body almost incapable of handling the energy that I held in my hands.

I looked up, as the dust within the camp finally settled, and I could see every member of the camp. Including the still passed out Vernal, and Raven, who seemed to be just as exhausted as I was.

'_Perhaps it took just as much energy to absorb the magic as it did to fire it.'_ I thought to myself sarcastically, as I felt another wave of nausea strikes me, as I was reminded just how much energy was currently in my sword.

"That Sword…." I heard Raven gasp, as she did all but collapse to the ground, using her own blade to keep her standing.

Once again, the wave of nausea struck, as I felt the energy trying to force itself out. I brought my broken hand to my head, trying to hold back this unending wave of pure discomfort …

"Get 'im!"

Only for some of the stupider bandits to rush me, their eyes filled to the brim with greed. They drew their weapons, ready to kill me in hopes that they could take everything I had.

I glared at them, as I held my sword up. Ready to defend myself from their greedy, money-grubbing hands.

So, as the first one came to me, with another one of those double barrels in hand…

I swung my sword at him.

Everything blew into chaos not even a second later.

Every single one of those dumb bandits were vaporized, as all of the energy with the Master Sword focused into an extremely powerful sword beam. Nothing stood in its wake, as the tents, the wall surrounding the bandit camp, and even the trees turned into nothing but ash. Even the air surrounding the blast seemed to be vaporized, as a powerful gust of air moved in to replace what was destroyed.

I couldn't even comprehend how much damage I did, as no doubt thousands of trees disappeared in the blink of an eye. Animals, demons, even the clouds that Raven seemed to have summoned out of nowhere. All of them, simply gone.

All of the bandits that weren't simply killed, including Raven, could only be shell shocked. Even I couldn't comprehend what had just happened…

But that was quickly ignored, as what met my eyes made my heart stop, and mind goes blank.

For when the clouds parted in the sky…

The moons hanging prominently within the stars, its surface shattered and chunks of it hanging within the cold emptiness of space.

It was mind-numbing. Impossible! The moon, it couldn't be shattered! I saw it the night before the battle with Ganondorf, as a whole and perfectly round as it had always been!

I felt myself begin to hyperventilate, as everything but the moon was all but blind to me. I tried to rationalize this, tried to play it off saying it was just the many Sheikah Stones that Zelda launched into space.

But no matter how hard I tried, the moon seemed to mock me further, as I noticed the large hole in the side of the moon.

Why was it shattered!? What happened!? Was this Ganondorf's doing, o-

_On this day, the beginning of my eternal rule, I promise the Hero of Hyrule, and The Princess of Destiny this!_

No….

_This world, filled with the weak and foolish, shall no longer be tolerated!_

No… no no no no no…

_I shall bring us to a new age…_

Thi-this can't be…

_A_ _**New World!**_

I… I can't…

I searched the stars, trying to find any of the familiar constellations in the sky. Even if Ganondorf destroyed the moon, he couldn't destroy the stars. They were too far and filled to the brim with magic too powerful to even get close to.

But, no matter where I looked, the stars that I tried to find didn't seem to exist. He couldn't find the placement of the Stars of the Goddesses, no Darunia's Belt, not even The Tear of Hylia.

It was a completely different sky…

A completely different world…

And I almost passed out at the very prospect.

Hyrule… the country I had fought for over two years. The country that I had broken nearly every bone in my body for, the home that I had defended with my life.

Gone. Gone, with the Triforce of Courage, and the Master Sword in another world. The only way to defend against the next Ganondorf…

Impossible to reach…. All because I failed to defeat Ganondorf sooner… and because of that…

I had just doomed Hyrule for all eternity.

With that realization, something within my mind and soul shattered.

I dropped my sword to the ground, as it sunk into the earth with ease. All feeling in my body was gone, as I simply stood there, simply staring at the moon.

Three deafening bangs filled the air, as I felt something pierce my chest. But there was no pain, only the sheer numbness of everything crashing down on me. From my exhaustion to my injuries, and the realization that I had fai-

I blocked that thought out, forcing myself to look down at what had pierced me to distract from such thoughts. Though, there was a blade or arrow that had pierced me. Despite that, blood was freely flowing from a hole just under my left ribs, with another on my injured leg.

The numbness in my body finally took over everything, as I fell to the dirt. With what little energy I had left, I turned my head the left, hoping to avoid an even worse broken nose.

I felt the impact against the ground, but none of the pain that should have accompanied it. I couldn't feel anything other than numb. All that I could see was the shine of my blade, a few feet away from me, stabbed into the dirt.

After a while of feeling this way, I saw the familiar black boots with bare legs enter my sight. They took slow steps, as I heard the ragged breathing from the woman. The struggle to breathe no doubt coming from the fact that her sternum was shattered.

Yet, despite the battle they had just had, where she was aiming to end his life as quickly as possible, she completely ignored me. Instead, she moved towards my sword, dropping her own, as it fell to the floor with a soft impact.

I tried to raise my head to figure out what she was doing, but that question was answered not even a second later.

A groan of pain came from Raven, as a white light seemed to bleed from the Master Sword, pushing the woman back. That didn't stop her from trying though, as she pushed against the light, a hand outstretched.

She was trying to take my sword.

But, like many other attempts to take it before her, it ended in a spectacular failure.

Though she was strong enough to fight against the powerful white light if only for a while, she was too injured to keep going. She kept trying though, as she was the barest millimeter away from the handle of the sword.

But, the second she touched a piece of the handle…

The Sword blasted an incredible energy, blowing Raven away with a strong enough force to ram her into what I assumed to be the part of the wall that was still standing. I heard ice shatter, making me assume that the ice over her shoulder had broken off.

There were many out cries of 'Boss', as over seventy feet ran together, no doubt running to her aid. I heard another thump, as I believed she fell straight to the ground.

As many of her men gather around her, everything was silent. Then, in a panic-filled, quivering voice, someone spoke.

"T-his isn't good…" one of them said, as I heard Raven hiss in agony. "If she doesn't get immediate surgery, she'll die before her Aura can recover. We need to get her to a bed! Get me the medical supplies in my tent!"

"W-which on-"

"All of them! Now!" The man who must be the healer of the camp screamed, as many feet scrambled to get everything he needed.

As this was happening, my own vision started to blur, as colors started to blend together within the thick of the night. I could feel the edge of unconsciousness growing larger by the second, as my blood poured into the grass below me. Still, there was no pain, only sickening numbness, as everything started to fade into black.

But, as I began to fall into the dark realm of sleep, I heard Raven speak.

"H-he has the Sword…" She spoke in a weak voice, as it became harder and harder to keep conscious. "K-keep him alive…"

"B-but Ra-"

"He knows how to wield it…" She interrupted the healer, before coughing in what sounded like an incredible amount of pain. "We need him… or we'll never b- be able to understand how t-to use it… before _she _finds us…"

"K-keep him _alive…"_

That was all I heard before I fell into the realm of the unconscious. Blissfully unaware of how I had so utterly failed.

* * *

_**The greatest enemy is never your opponent, but always yourself. Work to never give yourself the chance to fail, and you can face any opponent.**_

_**-Me, At this very moment.**_

_**_**_

_**Next Time on "A Hero's Dream"!**_

**_"A Journey to the East"_**


	4. Journey to the East

**_Hello Everybody, and welcome to another chapter of…_**

**_A Hero's Dream!_**

**_I know you all have been waiting, so let's get straight to the reviews!_**

**_Dracus9: Though I love the Idea and both the game and anime, I will not be writing it. I am already focused on this story, and the Fire Emblem 3H world is extensive. To rewrite that and create a feasible story will be very difficult. Though, don't give up on it, I'm sure someone will write it._**

**_darkmist111: I'm glad you like it, and hope you will continue to read. This Link's design is most similar to TP, but with a more green color like OoT. Vernal was a way to show the audience that Link will have an affect on the RWBY World, other than just being there to help the plot along. Indeed, he does have a purpose, and he might just remember that purpose…_**

**_Lokyloco: Thank you for the review, and I'm glad you feel that way. It feels good to have my writing affect someone, because that shows that I am doing a good job. Now, let see how our hero reacts!_**

**_MessyMark: Thanks! Hope you enjoy!_**

**_human dragon: Thanks for the praise! Hope you enjoy!_**

**_VocaloidBrony: Thanks for commenting in English! It really helps me. Anyway, yes, I'm really proud of everything I did with Raven and Vernal, especially Raven v.s Link! Though she is indeed interested in the Master Sword, one has to wonder? Is it the Master Sword, or a different, very special sword in her world she's interested in? Things to think about as you read this chapter._**

**_Tero7323: They really did._**

**_Inheritance1990: Indeed, and here's the next chapter to enjoy!_**

**_Ahron756: I'm glad you think so, and hope you enjoy the new chapter._**

**_alexkellar: I was mostly joking about your DeviantArt account, but I'm glad you I got your attention. Through your art, I might even get some more readers! I hope the illustration ends up well, and I am excited to see it!_**

**_WolfyFenri: I'm glad you enjoyed my fight scene, and hope you enjoy the scenes in this chapter even more! I will indeed keep written, but you gotta promise me to keep reading!_**

**_V1602: Indeed, Link has always been outmatches by his opponents, and has always come out on top! The Master Sword, his skills, and of course, his Luck, are incredibly helpful for him. Keep reading, and I'm sure you'll see our favorite green hero in action!_**

**_Now, with reviews written down, It's time for another chapter of "A Hero's Dream"_**

**_Loading File._**

**_._**

**_. ._**

**_. . ._**

**_Last Time, on "A Hero's Dream" :_**

**_Our hero Link had to face off against the powerful leaders of the Branwen tribe with nothing more than his bare hands. After crippling Vernal, and leaving Raven in critical condition, Link discovered that he was no longer within the land of Hyrule, or even it's dimension! After that Link was shot, and unable to move while Raven attempted to take the Master Sword, wanting its power for her own. Being rejected by the blade, she ordered her tribe to keep him alive, to figure out the secrets of the Master Swords power. Will Link be able to survive his wounds? Will he recover from the shock of dooming Hyrule when the next Ganondorf comes? Will he escape the treacherous Bandit Camp of the Branwen Tribe? Let's find out!_**

**_._**

**_. ._**

**_. . ._**

**_…_**

**_File Loaded._**

**_Continue?_**

**_—[Yes]_**

**_No_**

* * *

**_Chapter 3: Journey to the East_**

_I layed back with my eyes open, staring within the black void. No color, no light… simply nothing but void and myself._

_It felt like I was floating, as if nothing could touch me, or even exist without my knowing._

_I was sure that such a place should bring discomfort, that this darkness surrounding me could only bring a sense of fear. Yet, the feeling of solitude, the sense that nothing could happen in this space, even a stray breeze without my say so, was comforting. Nothing could blindside me here. No monsters, no injuries, and especially no insane sights that caused me to panic._

_Everything here was under my control, and nothing could surprise me._

_Afterall, this was the place I went whenever I passed out. This is the area where, as my body began to heal itself, my being would be able to relax and heal as well._

_It was like a safe haven to me, a place where I kept my secrets, and where they would be forever contained. Unless, of course, I decided to divulge such information._

_I had been here many times, more than I can count, and more than I cared to remember. Though, one could possibly count the number of times I had been here and probably match it with all of my lethal scars._

_But, even here, with all the comfort I could ask for in this empty world…_

_I could feel the effects of what I had learned, weighing down not only on my mind, but here in what I could only assume to be my soul._

_I took a deep breath of the non-existing air, able to do anything but relax as I could feel myself heal. The deep despair that filled me, all from learning if what i have done to homeland because of my failure._

_What I had doomed my country men to for all their lives, living in fear of the next coming of the Demon King, and eventually, be ruled by him. The very thing I had fought to stop, assured from my failure, until the end of days._

_I held my head, as my hands actually moved through my temples with no skin or bone to resist against. As I had said before, nothing existed here, not even the 'body' I was using. In fact, I wasn't even solid, as bits and pieces of me flashed in and out of existence, like a flame flickering in different directions, attempting to grab all the air it needed to live._

_I clawed at my intangible brain, trying to stop the memory of that damn moon from entering. Was it too much to ask for some peace? Was it too much to just leave me a moment without these thoughts hanging me by the neck?_

_Or, perhaps this was my punishment for failing my world to the End Times. The constant, unending pressure of guilt and self-loathing crashing down on me. Always pushing, never resting… not until the day I finally-_

_C_cr_a**ck**!*_

_I felt it before I heard it. Something within me shattering like a glasshouse._

_And the memory of the moon threw the rock._

_My eyes shot wide open, and my empty lungs somehow let loose all the air inside them. My ears were ringing, as I heard thousands of words assault them like a buzzing bee. Tastes and smells that were never there before assaulted me in overlapping waves._

_I screamed in pain and horror, as the cracks of something within me grew larger. I yelled and screamed until I could feel my vocal cords tear apart! Yet, no matter how loudly I shouted, I could hear my own voice. There was nothing for my voice to ride on, nothing to hear. Not even the sound of my mind-_

_S**h**at_**te**_r*_

_A piece fell away from something within me, as thousands upon thousands of screams echoed through me. Younger, older, higher, lower, angry, sad, happy, despairing, and too many more. They reverberated around nothing, but still made my teeth chattered in full force! Like I was in the cold Snowhead wind with nothing but my pants._

_They didn't exist, couldn't exist, but they were there, making my head explode over and over with each syllable. Each letter, word, sentence, paragraph and novel that I've never read or heard shoved itself in my mind._

_It was horrific, and I couldn't take much more of the sound. It was too loud to listen to, but too soft to make out. An impossibility that existed within me in ways I could never understand. I tried to drown it out, ignore it, but it was loud!_

_My eyes were open as I tried to focus on what was going on around me. But even that didn't make sense, as a carnival of sights played out in my eyes._

_People, creatures, animals, places, all running through me as the sound kept growing louder, and began speaking faster. Visions of battles took place in my mind, as swords, magic, and Goddesses know what else tore into me._

_I continue to see things that didn't make sense, taste things that I've never tasted, heard things never said, and feel things that I've never felt. Nothing but this existed, yet it didn't exist at all._

_I tried to figure out why all of this was happening, but it was next to impossible. My mind was filled with thoughts not my own, and was to busy to undertake these sensations to process anything else._

_I tried harder and harder to ignore these images, trying to simply rest and heal. But the harder I ignored, the stronger these senses tried to be felt._

_It was torture, it was insanity, it was-_

**_'W-k- u-'_**

_Familiar…._

_All the senses stopped, as they seemed to freeze in shock. I was much the same, as I looked around the dark space, trying to find the source of that voice._

_It was… so familiar…_

_I looked up, as I breathed in the nothing that existed within this dark space. I wasn't sure why, but something pulled me there, as my heart seemed to skip a beat thirteen times over._

_I wasn't sure why, but I wasn't surprised to see light above me._

_The infinite emptiness within this space was replaced, as I found a large hole in the ceiling, filled with light. White cracks seemed to spread out from the source, as something seemed to have punched a hole through it._

_I found the need to walk towards it._

_Suddenly, I wasn't simply floating within an empty void, but standing within a dark place. I didn't think about what this place was, or how it suddenly changed. Rather, I walked forward towards the light, trying to reach it._

_There was no path that I could see before me, but I knew the way. Though, even though the light was blinding and beyond warm; it was a voice that guided me forward._

_"Wait up!"_

_An image flashed in my mind, one of a young boy and girl chasing each other through an empty castle hallway. Hiding from guards, playing games, and telling each other made up stories of the Hero._

_A scene of better, simpler days, that the me of now cherished more than anything._

_Yet, as soon as that one appeared, many more images followed. Images he knew, but didn't recognize even though they made his skip a beat._

_"When all of this is over… Will you come to wake me up?"_

_My heart was suddenly stabbed by an overwhelming sadness, brought by an image to blurry to see. It was sudden, and I was almost forced to drop to my knee. I felt a tear from my eye enter this void around me, as the complete sorrow formed an incredible urge to move forward._

_Another step, harder than the last, was taken as more images flashed by._

_"Link! Hurry! Let's Go!"_

_A different image came to me, as my heart grew lighter at the sight. A young girl ran to a distant town, absolute joy filling both her face and voice._

_Despite the difficulty of the step forward, I followed the girl, as more and more images weighed me down. Each new image coming with each new step._

_"Link!"_

_A girl within a tower, standing upon a floor made of clouds, overlooking the entirety of Hyrule. Though, the image was strange, as he couldn't help but see the same thing in four different ways._

_"Now it is time for me to to make up for my mistakes…"_

_A woman, standing in front of me, as we seemed to float in a crystal blue sky. A face filled with regret and sorrow._

_"Wow. What's with that getup?"_

_A tan girl standing within a forest, confused about where she was and what had happened, the smell of the sea upon her._

_"You were imprisoned…"_

_A figure cloaked in black, her voice filled with sadness as she looked down at him, surrounded by dreary twilight._

_"I'm so glad you made it, Link!"_

_A young girl, with a pan flute in hand, as bright and cheerful as the sun itself. Unaware of the long journey ahead of her._

_"Help me… Please, help me…"_

_The desperate plea of a girl within the dead of night, filled with fear for her life._

_"I bid you fondest welcome to my castle, stranger."_

_A ruler in a time of peace, smiling upon me brightly, with eyes that shone with the light of familiarity._

_"Open your eyes… Wake up Link…."_

_A wake up call to adventure, as a voice spoke within my ear, foreign yet familiar all the same._

_Each vision I recalled, the closer the light came, and the harder it was to move forward. Despite that, I carried myself forward, as I always did._

_Even when the weight of all of these visions seemed to crush me, I moved forward. Even when strange but familiar events play before in my eyes with untraceable speed, I kept moving._

_Even when the seemingly infinite scars marked this body, time and time again, I never stopped._

_"Link…."_

_And finally, when the final step could be taken to escape this void, I stared. This close, I could see through the light, just barely. And through that light..._

_"WAKE UP!"_

_As the world crumbled, the final step left untaken, all I could do was stare. I could feel myself begin awaken, being taken away from this place to the real world._

_Still, none of that mattered at the moment. The light stood in front of me, the final veil before the journey could be completed._

_Everything that had happened here would remain with me, I knew that for a fact. Even the vision before me, I would remember clearly._

_I felt the veil of shine on me, it's warmth connecting to my core, ensuring that I was connected to the other side. Despite that feeling of warmth and comfort, I still could only stare at what was beyond…_

_And on the precipice of consciousness, I could only wonder…_

_Why twelve men stood there, waiting for me..._

* * *

My eyes were open, and I immediately regretted waking up.

I gasped in pain, as each of my wounds and sore muscles immediately shout in agony. Their collective groans and moans echoing in my mind, telling me to go back to sleep. Ironically, their cries only served to keep me awake, as the pain sharpened my mind.

Of course, that wasn't why I immediately regretted waking up.

I blinked the sleep out of my eyes, as moving my arms would be to much of a hassle. Though it didn't take a genius to figure out that I was on my back.

Inside a cage…

Staring at the sky...

With the shattered moon directly over me…

I closed my eyes and sighed, ignoring the pain in my ribs the best I could. Life was never easy, was it?

'_At least now I know it wasn't just a dream._' I thought to myself, opening my eyes and staring deeply into the moon. Silently, I tried to move my body, resisting the urge to groan in aching pain.

I quickly learned that, even though only my wrists were tied, I was definitely not moving any time soon. Every time I even thought about moving, my body roared for me to stop, saying I had pushed myself enough. It was so bad that even moving my head was too much, so I couldn't even get a good grasp of where I am.

And feeling the two new holes in my body, along with an almost entirely fractured left foot, I could understand why. Worse, as I felt my sheath dig into my back, irritating some of the new holes in my body.

Though, because of my current inability to move, I was stuck having to think. And with the symbol of my failure over my head, those thoughts were far from pleasant.

My failure, the pain in my body, even the strange experience within my dream. All of it weighed heavily on my mind and soul, as I tried to sift through the barrel of emotions inside of me.

I sighed again, vainly hoping that it would release some of the bottled up emotions inside of me. That had the opposite effect though, as the emotions were just brought closer to the surface instead.

So, in an attempt to distract myself, I tried to find something to focus on. Anything to help me just… just ignore everything inside until I had enough time and energy to focus on them.

Of course, just when I was thinking about energy, my stomach growled in pain, begging to be filled.

I sighed again, just looking up into the sky, trying to find something a little distracting. Ironically, my attention was brought to the cause of my current state…

The shattered moon in the sky.

I simply stared, gazing up while simultaneously pushing my emotions down to just relax and recover. I stopped halfway through though, realizing that doing that would only make the problem worse.

Distracting myself wasn't working.

So, in an attempt to calm down and process all of my emotions, I tried what Impa had taught me in an attempt to teach me magic.

Meditation.

According to her, it was a technique used by ancient Sheikah to become one with themselves. It was originally used as a way to connect one to the Goddesses, to fully understand oneself from the Goddesses eyes. Some Sheikah had succeeded, and those that did were said to live far beyond their already long life span, and were gifted wisdom that few could possess. The most famous being the Impa from the Tales of the Hero of the Sky, who was said to have lived centuries before dying.

However, true meditation was never taught outside of the Sheikah Clan, not even to the Royal Family. They had deemed it to dangerous to share outside of the Clan, and thus guarded it's secrets with the utmost care.

Though, they did share a simplistic version of it, and let all of the races of Hyrule practice. Though nowhere near as effective as Sheikah Meditation, this helped many ground themselves and deal with the problems of the inner self. It also helped connect you to magic, though I could never figure out how.

Slowly, I took a breath, all while closing my eyes, focusing on nothing but breathing. Nothing mattered at the moment, nothing but my breathing.

It was hard at first, since I was in pain and every breath only solidified that fact. However, moving through it, I was finally in a state where I could look in in myself, and relax.

Relaxed and composed, I tried to untangle the huge ball of emotions I felt inside of me. Slowly but surely, I kept myself focused in unraveling all of these emotions and let pass through.

Anxiety that seemed to shake me to my very core, I let flow through me. Guilt for what I had let happened, weighing me down, was released. Inadequacy that seemed to crush my heart was accepted. Dread t_hat is always above me could never leave. Fear for my life, as well as the realm I now inhabited. Betrayal as my friend called down that t-_

_I stopped as I felt sweat rolling down my body, an unspeakable fear freezing my very bones. My breathing was erratic, as my ribs ached in horrible pain. Something was roaring in my ear, as the sound of bells tried to warn me of the incoming death._

_I could feel it, the stare that was pointed at me from above, wishing nothing but our cruel end. Even with my eyes closed, it stared through me, tempting me to look upon it, and meet its eye._

_It didn't care though, as it would complete its mission…_

_If I didn't stop it._

_I grabbed my instrument, and opened my eyes…_

_And saw the terrible yellow eyes from the heavens, as it's form began to fal-_

"Damnit Kreig, wake the fuck up!"

I jerked at the loud yell, as everything around me melted away back into reality. I was still in the cage, looking up at the moon with sweat rolling down every inch of my body. Weirdly enough, my hands were at my side, reaching for something in my item pouch, something I clearly wasn't doing before.

_'What the hell was that?!_' I thought to myself in a blind panic, as I brought my bound hands to my heart, feeling it beat faster than a drum. My ribs aches with each beat, as I tried to force myself to calm down.

I looked around the small cage I was in, trying to find something to ground me in reality. Cause what I saw couldn't be real, even more so than the shattered moon above me.

It couldn't...

That was when I saw the both of them right outside of my cage. Two dark skinned men, wielding a bastard sword and a shotgun, on guard. Though, one of them was sitting down with his hand rubbing his eyes, as if he had just woken up. The other was standing over him, glaring down at the slacking guard.

"I'm up, I'm up…" The younger sitting guard, Kreig if I heard right, spoke, yawning as he began to stand himself up…

Before falling back down, lightly snoring, his head leaning onto one of the bars of my cage.

"Son of a-" The other, older guard spoke up, before kicking the sleeping guard in the ribs. "Wake-up!"

The sudden kick knocked Kreig to the side, as he grabbed his left ribs in agony and groaning up a storm. "T-the hell was that for Coby…"

"Shut up you lazy bastard!" The guard now known as Coby spoke, grabbing Kreig under his shoulder. Without any effort on his part, Coby lifted the last guard up, dragging him back onto his feet. "We have a job to do, and if we're caught slacking off, neither of us will sleep tonight!"

With his part said, Coby turned toward me in the cage, as I shut my eyes pretending to be unconscious. All other thoughts left my mind, as the need for survival took over everything.

For if I was caught awake, who knows what they'd do to me.

My breathing slowed down, as I forced every part of my body to go limp. Legs, arm, face, everything was limp as I forced myself to seem relaxed. Despite that, I remained attentive, listening in on what they were talking about.

"Lucky bastard…" He heard Kreig yawn, as he heard the distinctive sound of feet walking on dirt. "Gets to sleep the whole day as a reward for beating up our boss yesterday. Meanwhile, I have to stay up and watch as he gets a good night's rest."

"If you want to be like him, be my guest." Coby told his partner, as I heard the sound of something moving within his hands. "I'd be happy to put you under."

"Put the gun down Coby," Kreig reacted calmly, despite what I assume to be the end of the gun in his face. "I'm too lazy to react, and you're too forgetful to realize that you didn't even load it."

Cody clicked his teeth, as my mind started to race.

I've only been unconscious for a day? That didn't sound right…

Even I could tell that my body was in serious need of repair. The horrible aches and bruises that I could feel were enough proof, even to a blind man. Without the healing of a potion or a healing spell, I should be out for some time, not awake barely twenty-four hours after I was knocked unconscious.

So, why was I awake? Was it that strange dream? Or something more…

My thoughts were interrupted, once again, by the two guards outside of my cell. This time, however, the conversation was started by the lazy Kreig.

"This is really dumb, ya'know that right?" He started out, as I heard the sound of someone sliding down the bars to sit down.

"What is?" Coby asked, as he stood silently and at attention, ever vigilant of anything that could come at him.

"This," Kreig began, as I assumed he gestured around himself, maybe even pointing at me laying down 'unconscious'. "Think about it! Why do we have to do this? Hell, why are we doing this?!"

I resisted the urge to quirk my brow at his question, as Cody began to ask the same question I was going to ask. "You mean watch the guy who could possibly take out the entire camp with a single swipe of his sword, and took out our leaders?" He spoke in a sarcastic voice, as I imagined him rolling eyes, focusing on the pitch black sky. "I don't know Kreig, you tell me."

"That's exactly my point," Kreig began, as I heard the distinct sound of fingernails scratching against skin. " Seriously, if he wakes up, what the hell are we going to be able to do?! We might as well get my grandma to gum him to death, might do more than we can."

The world went silent with Coby not making a sound, as I disagreed with the lazy guard in front of my cage. Right now, I was as weak as glass, and I could barely move in this cage, much less make an attempted escape. Even if I let them know I was awake, there isn't much I can do without the Master Sword, or any of my items for example. The most I could do is probably glare at them threateningly, unable to move any other body part.

"See." Kreig suddenly said, as if the silence with his realization was proof enough that he was right. " Someone more qualified needs to watch this guy, and let the rest of us get some rest."

"Qualified like, oh I don't know, our leader and her second hand, both of which were nearly killed." Coby replied sarcastically, though not disagreeing with the lazy guard. If anything, from the sound of shifting dirt, Coby joined Kreig on the dirt and relaxed. "Just be honored that our temporary leader respects you enough to actually guard the bastard. Though, we should probably be focusing on fixing that breech in our walls instead."

"Don't I know it!" Kreig responded, as I could practically hear him shiver in his boots, as he I heard the distinct sound of a flask opening. "The thought of another large Grimm raid without Raven's or Vernal's help? That's a thought I don't want to be having right now …" He trailed off, as he took a swig from the flask, containing what I could only assume what was some kind of alcoholic drink.

"So…." He began, closing his flask and putting it away in his jacket if the sound of skin rubbing against fabric was anything to go by. "Crazy idea…"

"Yeah?" Coby asked, curious as to what this crazy idea was, as I too focused on the lazy guards words.

Only to stiffen at what he said, as I prayed to the Goddesses they didn't see me react.

"Why don't we just kill him?" Kreig asked casually as if he didn't just ask whether they should kill the unconscious man behind them. Even Coby was silent in what I assumed to be shocked. "It's better than leaving him alive with a chance of getting out and killing all of us in our sleep. Would cut down any chance of the Grimm being tracked to our dread of keepin' the guy who destroyed our camp, maybe even boost moral! There is literally no reason to keep him alive, only very bad consequences!"

… I had to admit, he made some very good points. If it were any other situation, and I wasn't the one they are talking about murdering, I might've agreed with him.

I was a huge risk to keep alive, more so since I had devastated any structure of leadership that they had in place. If I was able to escape this cage, and grab my sword, there probably wouldn't be many people in this camp that would be able to stop me.

Of course, that was only if I was healed, and had more than just one fully functional limb. They didn't need to know that though, and they certainly didn't need to know that I couldn't escape this cage without any of my equipment.

However, despite understanding why he suggested this, it didn't stop the chill from creeping down my spine. And the reason was not hard to figure out.

If they decided to kill me, there was little I could do to stop them. My body didn't want to move do to all of my injuries and I had no weapons of any kind. Even if I could move, I was sure that these bandits had the power of Aura, make it impossible for me to hurt them. At least, not without breaking my body further.

Though, as I thought about it, what was the point of fighting back?

Hyrule was lost to me. My home gone, with the only way to defend its future in the middle of this bandit camp. Part of me was already giving in waiting for the cold edge of steel.

A part that was hard to ignore, and easy to accept

But another part of me told me that I was too quick to give up. It whispered that I was too quick to give away the life I had been trying to keep for twenty years now. Too strong to give in so easily.

And despite the loud voice telling me to give up, this whispering voice was all I could hear.

Besides...

I was vulnerable to the whims of destiny, and that was never an easy prospect for me to accept. Especially after all I had been through on the journey to defeat the King of Evil.

I squinted my eyes open, enough that I could see with the least amount of space needed to close if needed. With my eyes open, I tried to gauge Coby's reaction, seeing whether or not he agreed with Kreig's statement. However, it was too dark, and my vision too blurry to see anything. So, preparing for the worst, I tried to find anything to defend myself with. Whether it was a stick or even a rock, anything would do.

Though, when I heard one of the guards laugh, I realized that wasn't necessary.

"Di-didn't know you were such a coward Kreig," Coby spoke in between gasps of laughter, as from my squinted eyes, I saw him rest a hand on his sides. "Afraid of a goody two shoe Huntsman killing us? Really?"

"The hell are you talking about!?" Kreig shouted as he stood up, and got in the other guards face, voice filled with anger. "You saw what he did! You know what he can do! He crippled Vernal, and almost killed Raven! So hell yeah I'm scared! What if he wakes up and burst out of this cage?! He'd kill us without a second tho-"

Kreig was interrupted by Coby laughing even harder, trying to catch his breath As he did, Kreig to take back a step back, as we both looked at the man as if he had gone crazy.

"What the hell are you laughing about?!" Kreig asked, as I silently wondered the same thing, still looking for any sort of weapon.

" T-the fact that you think that this guy," Coby began to say as he laughed, pointing me out as I shut my eyes and remained perfectly still. "Is gonna be trying to kill us!"

"What?" Kreig asked, confused over what his fellow guard was trying to get across. Seeing his confusion, Coby stopped laughing and sighed, shaking his head as he did.

"He's a Huntsman, kid." Coby began to explain, shifting himself to get comfortable. "A new age one based on his age, the ones too drunk on fairy tales to look at reality. They're strong, sure, but they lack the edge that the older Huntsmen and Huntresses have. The most he'll do is beat us up and go to Mistral to report us to Lionheart. And we'll be long gone before the other Huntsmen show up."

"Tell that to Liam!" Kreig spoke up, seething at the older guards calm words. "Tell that to Po, and even that bitch Julie! They're literally dust in the wind, and you're telling me that this… jackass is weak!?"

"Please," Coby spoke simply, brushing off the words of the other guard with ease. "We both know that was an accident, a mistake made in the moment. If he were awake, he'd probably be puking his guts out over what he did."

As he said this, the three bandits flashed before my mind, as I vaguely recall them trying to rob me. So they really were dead than…

Damn.

"B-but what he did to Raven and Vern-" Kreig began to counter, before he was interrupted by again by the older guard.

"What about what Raven did to little Daisy?"

Kreig shut his mouth closed with an audible click, as all turned silent in this small part of the world.

_'Daisy?'_ I asked myself in my head as I squinted my eyes open, trying to read their expressions. It came as no surprise to find their expressions filled with sadness, as they remembered someone.

"That girl was with us for two years." Coby continued, despite the expression on his face showing that he didn't like talking about it. "Raven saw the magic she had, the power that the tribe could wield with her on our side. The gift only four people in the world can have at a time."

I felt my eyes widen at his words before going to squinting, as it connected quite a lot of dots in my mind. Magic did exist in this world, and this Aura that everyone in this camp wielded was different. That must've been what Raven had used against me, though her ability to control the elements was beyond impressive. Though I had already guessed that, it was nice to have confirmation that it was actually magic, and not something else.

Though, if this Daisy has the magic…

How did Raven get it?

"We tried to train her." Coby began again, as he stood up and grabbed Kreig by the collar. At first, I thought he was going to hit him, but instead, he grabbed Krieg's flask, taking a long drink of its contents.

"But she wasn't cut out for this type of life." He spoke as he gasped for air, the drink moving through his system. "Combat was never her forte, anyone could tell you that with a glacé… But we tried… I tried."

Kreig was silent, as he cringed at the admission of the older guard. I could tell he knew the story, but didn't have the heart to stop the older man. Not that I blame him though, as I could feel the emotion wafting off of him.

"Wasn't enough though… the girl wasn't able to hurt a fly, much less another person." Coby continued, his expression filled with regret, as he just looked at the flask he had taken. "Raven saw this, and I told her that we should just use her as a figurehead. Something to instill fear, rather than fight off the enemy…. S-she was a good actor too, could've done it with ease..."

"Hey man…" Kreig began, seeing the older guard struggling with his words. "I know the story, you don't have t-"

"Daisy died a week after I told Raven." Coby told him, as I felt a pit in my stomach grow. "No hesitation, no second thoughts… our leader killed a sixteen-year-old girl that had lived with us for two years… a girl that was too good for this world…"

"This guy is strong." Coby told Kreig, pointing at me with his thumb, as the other gave the flask back to Kreig. "He has my respect, and even a pat on the back for knocking her down a peg. But Raven… to kill someone you've laughed, ate, and even lived with for two years without a second thought… all for the power she wields…"

"That is a strength that I fear. A strength that constantly hovers over your shoulder, making you wonder if your next. A strength no man can run from when you're already in its clutches …"

All was silent once again, as both Kreig and I digested what he said. No one could say a word, as we simply settled in the dark emotions that Coby left for us.

"Don't be afraid of any Huntsmen you fight Kreig," Coby suddenly spoke up standing up and stretching his back, causing some pops to fill the air. "Cause what's leading you is much worse."

"Now…" Coby began, looking at the standing Kreig, and giving a smirk. "I need a drink. You?"

"B-But what if-" Kreig began, as he and I could only imagine what would happen if they got caught skipping guard duty. Especially after what he had just told us about Raven's leadership.

"Relax," Coby eased the younger bandit, as he patted him on the shoulder, pushing him away from the cage. "The next guards show up in fifteen minutes, and he's out like a light. Even if he was awake, he'd have to get through 6-inch thick iron bars without a sound."

Despite his words, Kreig still seemed unsure, as he glanced at me and the cage.

Coby gave a sigh, as he rubbed his temple, before taking out a piece of glass from his pocket. "Fine, I'll message the guys to come early. One of them owes me a favor anyway. You get to my tent, and I'll wait for him to message me back, okay?" He told him with a smile, as he began to press his fingers onto the glass.

I watched as Kreig stared at the older guard through squinted eyes, trying to figure out what he was pulling. He decided it was unimportant though, as he simply shrugged and started to head towards the group of tents.

As soon as he was out of sight, Coby stopped the forced smile, and turned to me. I immediately shut my eyes a relaxed, pretending to still be unconscious.

I could feel his presence outside of the cage for a full minute, as he simply stared at me. His gaze was burning into me, as if he was trying to see through my body.

Then it all suddenly stopped, as the sound of metal rubbing together filled the air. Then, the sound of feet walking away echoed in the quiet air, as they slowly walked away from the cage.

I opened my eyes, turning my head towards the door of the cage, chained shut with a heavy lock. In that lock…

Was a key.

I sat myself up, despite the difficulty with my broken body, staring at the key with wide eyes. I shifted my gaze towards where Coby left, nothing there but empty space.

Though he wasn't there, I gave him a nod in thanks, as I digested what I had heard. However, just thinking about bandit leaders actions made me grip my left hand in rage.

The death of a girl, all to take a power that just happened to be a part of her. It was just like the actions of the King of Evil...

Just like Ganondorf, D-mi-, Be-l-m, M-or-,O-o-, Ag-n-im, Z-n-, M-l-ad-s, Ve-a-, V-t-i, -u-a!

He who slays everyone in his way, all to obtain the power he craved. The strength of the Goddess of Power, Din. All while aware of the pain he had caused so many others.

He was a monster. There was no doubt about that.

But to so readily sacrifice someone you broke bread with. Someone you knew personally and even cared for, all for your own selfish needs… not even Ganondorf could've claimed to have done that. Not even the King of Evil, one of the worst evils within Hyrule history, could say he had done such an evil.

And the thought made the blood that flowed through my body boil! The fact that such evils existed both in this and even my world! It was infuriating, rage inducing even, to think about such things!

Even still, I could only imagine what I would've done to if someone had tried that with Zeld-!

Zelda….

My mind froze along with my rage, as my thoughts went to my friend. If I was here…

Than she had to be here too, in this world!

I felt my face split into a smile, as I could only feel the dark emotions disappear within my chest. She was here, it was possible to see her once again! And where I couldn't even begin to grasp how to get back home, there was no doubt Zelda would know!

However, as the happiness flowed in, so to did the reality of what her being here meant.

Zelda, one of the strongest magic users in all of Hyrule…

Was in a world where magic users are killed, sacrificed, for their power.

I didn't even realize that I was standing before my hands were already on the key to the cage. More specifically, my left hand, due to my right arm being broken.

She was out there, already in incredible danger without even knowing it. Before long, in this world with incredibly powerful warriors, she would be targeted without hesitation. Without any protection other than her own….

I could not let that stand.

Though I trusted the princess, who had been with me on my two year journey every step of the way, this was different. In this world, my trust in her abilities was in completely different waters. I couldn't even trust my own abilities, despite being one of, if not the, best swordsman Hyrule has to offer.

And without any knowledge on how powerful the people of this world could be, she was vulnerable to surprise.

And if she died…

No.

I turned the key, the lock clicking open as the chain fell to the ground with a soft thud. After it fell, I grabbed the key and the chain, leaving no evidence to how I escaped.

I will protect her, just as I always have. I will find her, face all of the enemies that would dare attack her, and go back home with her...

I took the first step out of my cage, bound and still injured beyond belief. Despite that, whoever met my eye would freeze, as the light of determination within them was blinding

And nothing, not even the strongest warrior in this world, would be able to stop me.

* * *

It was easier to sneak through the bandit camp than I had originally thought.

I chewed on the dry fish I had managed grab while bound from my pouch, finally able to enjoy its taste. Careful to be as quiet and stealthy as possible I peeked out from behind a stack of crates.

It had only been about two minutes since I had escaped from my cage, two minutes of peeking around corners and trying to make sure I didn't hiss in pain. And, in all honesty…

I had not been impressed.

Very little guards, very little people walking around, and a whole lot of tents and crates to hide behind? I couldn't help but feel that they weren't taking me seriously. Though, who am I to complain?

Though, from what I was seeing, the hard part started now.

I took another bite out of my fish, leaving nothing but bones as I watched the center of the bandit camp.

The only part in wide-open space, and the origin of both of my fights from yesterday. The marks from such a battle still present, such as the large scar dig into the earth from my strike. It was also resting place of my blade…

And the ten or so guards around Raven's tent, right in front of the Master Sword, weapons drawn. The key to escape, the large hole I had after absorbing her magic attack right next to them. Also guarded by men and women with their weapons drawn.

I sighed, feeling but ignoring the pain in my ribs, as I attempted to come up with a game plan.

Getting the map wasn't an option anymore, as the place I would think it would be in was the leaders tent. Looking at the many guards in front of that tent, their guns at the ready, only helped solidify that fact.

Running certainly wasn't an option, as not only were my legs too injured to go full sprint, but I had nowhere near enough energy to dodge all of the gun fire. And even if I could run, I would have to run towards and past a group of those guards. Something I knew I couldn't do as I was now.

Again, I sighed, looking out from behind the crate I was using as cover, throwing my fish bones aside. I had already used three minutes before the guard recognize that I was no longer in that cage.

And with all these guards around, with me in no reasonable position to fight, it seemed hopeless.

I could only feel my frustration grow, as I could only think about what my plans could've been. The easiest one coming to mind being to use my Magic Cape, or simply rushing past them with the Pegasus Boots, or even some bombs to just blow up the guards. So many plans, and no way to implement them…

It was infuriating.

Though, even as I was stuck here, between a tent and a crate, with freedom inches away but unattainable, it was easy to realize that this wasn't the worst situation I have ever been in. In fact, this was one of the more tame situations I've ever had to solve.

Still, I grit my teeth in frustration, grabbing the other cooked fish within my pouch, biting into its flesh. If only my magic pouch was still working, than this situation wouldn't seem as impossible. Or at least, my options would increase, making me not feel as pathetic as I was now.

It made me realize how reliant I was on my Items, a realization that I would've loved to have anytime but now.

_'Anything could've worked here…'_ I continued to think to myself, trying to come up with a plan that involved none of my Items. Though, that was failing miserably. '_My Ball and Chain, the Magic Rod, maybe even my bow if I was forced to. Though, pulling the bow would be really hard with only one arm to use. Maybe if just had an arrow, I could fend for myself but…'_

I looked back at the group of guards, still holding all of their weapons at the ready.

_'There are still too many of them for a normal arrow. Maybe an Ice Arrow or Fire Arr-'_

My mind froze as the idea crossed my mind, as fast and flashy as a bolt of lightning. I didn't quite have the Items to fight off the group of guards…

But maybe I could replicate their effects.

I ate the last of my fish, throwing the inedible parts to the ground with the rest, as I began planning on how to begin. I looked in my emergency pouch, checking whether or not I had the materials to make this work.

I could only smile as the Goddesses seemed to smile back in this foreign world.

Knowing that I was too out in the open for this to happen, I retreated farther back into the camp, moving with the wall to find the perfect spot. It didn't take long, as I found a good spot right behind me, with a pile of firewood nearby. The surplus they used to feed their fireplaces for light no doubt.

Knowing I was on borrowed time, I carefully but quickly moved to stack all of the said firewood next to the spiked wall. Picking it up throwing it onto the grass, before stacking them up. It took quite some time, as I was bound by the wrist, but that was time well spent.

With it all stacked, I looked around for anything that could catch easily, knowing logs wouldn't easily ignite. What I found was the top of one of the many fur tents, made to keep in the warmth when one was trying to sleep inside.

I grabbed the fur tarp, and rolled it up haphazardly, simply trying to get it as compact as possible. With that done, I moved the tarp towards the wood pile, and removed the logs within the center of the structure. Before it could collapse on itself, I shoved the large tarp in, giving the pile some nice kindling.

Still, I feared that this wouldn't be enough to get the guards panicking enough to leave their stations. Realizing this, I looked towards on of the crates I had hid behind, the large but thin amounts of dry wood perfect for what I was planning.

Careful to not make any noise while pulling it, I only moved it when the guards weren't looking. Luckily, it was quite dark where I was hiding compared to their completely lit area, so I and the crate were practically invisible.

The crate was a lot lighter than I had thought it would be, thankfully, so I was able to move it incredibly quickly. I was even able to lean the crate right onto the wood pile, it's top open and facing the thick wood walls.

I peeked inside of the crate, its content filled with what seemed to be red spice, ground into a fine powder. Perhaps he was near the storage area, or maybe even the place where the bandits kept all of their stolen goods. Whatever the case, it didn't matter, so I simply ignored it and moved on with the plan.

Though, I was curious if it was good. If they stole it in such bulk, there must be a high demand for it.

With it finished I looked upon my hastily made fire pit, trying to calculate how much time I had left. I felt my heart jolt in a small spark of panic when I realized I might have more than three minutes over my time limit. Luckily, it seemed that whoever was supposed to be checking and guarding my cage was running late, as no alarm seemed to sound.

Still, knowing that I was almost out of time, I moved as quickly as possible. I placed my bound hand in my pouch, and searched for the only item I had that could help me. When I felt my hands wrap around it's warm shell, I could only smile as I pulled it out.

In my hands, as small and as warm as a baby mouse, was a red seed from a foreign Kingdom known as Holodrum. It's fibers shaped into a small flame, as it seemed to glow in my hand.

An Ember Seed.

I sighed as I rolled the small seed around in my hands, feeling it's warmth move through me. It was almost burning me, sitting on the precipice of being too hot to hold in an ungloved hand.

This seed was something I bought at the beginning of our journey, at the request of both Zelda and Impa. It was expensive, costing almost a 100 Rupees due to the case that they only grew in Holodrum at certain times of the year, when the days were at their coldest. It was supposed to be used for emergencies, such as when Zelda and I almost died on Snowpeak. It was capable of lighting anything on fire, so long as it wasn't too big, and it would catch.

I could only grimace at that memory, as the memory of the smell of burning fur graced my mind.

Since then, I had always kept at least three on hand, just in case a similar situation ever came up. Though they were expensive, they have gotten me and Zelda out of quite a few jams.

Just as it was doing now.

Taking a few steps back, I brought my hands up into the air, grimacing as the bones in my broken arm shifted under my skin. It was a necessary pain, however, as I had to crack open it's shell right on the pile, or waste this chance.

Gritting my teeth and taking deep breaths in preparation, I steeled myself for what was going to be some incredible pain. With my last deep breath, I focused my attention toward the pile of wood, making sure it never left my mark…

Before swinging both of my arms down, hissing in pain, before releasing the seed from my clutches.

I took another step back, shutting my eyes in pain, as my arm felt like a sword had just been stabbed into it.

I opened them just in time to see the seed crack open with a loud snap...

And watch the large raging flames burst out of it, as if waiting for someone to release the demon within.

The entirety of the fur tarp caught fire, as I began to run towards a hiding spot away from the newly made fire. Each footfall was incredibly painful, but I forced myself to continue anyway, knowing the reaction something like a sudden blaze would have.

I could already hear the shouts sound when I snuck into my new hiding spot, not twenty feet from the fire. Peeking out from behind crate, I looked to the center of the encampment, watching as all of the guards reacted to the sudden blaze that occurred on the opposite end of the camp. They looked at each other wondering who will make the first move, as they had no leader to command them.

Luckily for me, and for them, someone saw how bad this could be.

"What are you all, stupid!?" A women in the guard shouted, pushing some of the guards toward the fire. "Put it out! If that thing gets big enough, we'll be seen by everyone in Mistral, including every Huntsmen they got."

"But ma'am, we have to protect R-" One of the guards began, as the rest of them moved to find anything to put out the fire. He was interrupted however, when the woman looked him dead in the eye.

"You stupid son of a bitch!" The woman shouted in his face, grabbing the collar of his coat as he did. Then, before he could say anything, she pointed towards where the fire was, as a sliver of fear seemed to enter her eyes. "Don't you see where that fire is! Do it befor-"

Suddenly, the entire encampment felt a wave of heat washed over every person at once, stinging their eyes. Before anyone could stop it, or even wonder what the cause was, the sound of roaring flames, and singeing fur reached my ears…

As the fire I had made grew ten times larger, and hot enough to melt the steel that supported the wall.

I could only widen my eyes and watch as more than a few guards shrunk back at the size and heat of the fire. Some screamed, to slow to react, as they were burned by the fire. Other shouted curses, too close for comfort to becoming exactly like their friends.

And without a leader, everyone was panicking. The woman before tried to give orders, but she was failing miserably, no one listening to her.

Without any guidance, they all ran around like they were being chased by Peahats. With no order and surprise filling my chest at the sudden huge fire, I could only watch the chaos stunned.

Of course, that didn't mean they were all running around doing nothing. To their credit, they were trying to put out the fire as quickly as possible. But, with no order in their movements, they just kept bumping into one another ruining each other's plan.

It was actually kinda amusing, yet this was no time to stay and watch.

I stood up, and ran towards the center of the encampment, moving my feet as fast as I could. It ended up only being fast walk, however, as I tried to dodge the men and women running around.

Within the chaos, I was hidden by my enemy's attention, as they were too busy looking at the fire. I had wondered briefly what I had done to make the flame so large in the first place, as there was nowhere near enough firewood to burn so high.

Right now, however, that didn't matter, as I had just reached my sword. Placing my arms parallel to the edge of the blade and ignoring the pain in my right arm, I cut my bonds, finally free. All while remaining hidden from view from all of the bandits, grabbing fire blankets and water to put out the fire.

Knowing that this chaos would only last so long, I quickly grabbed my sword, not even bothering to sheath it. I didn't have enough time, and hitting someone with it on accident would draw dangerous attention. So, I simply used it as a walking stick, propelling myself forward with each odd step, forcing me to move faster.

Moving towards the opening I had created just yesterday, I was relieved to find that it was now unguarded. Part of me had worried that even with the fire, I would be forced to fight those guards. With the fear of having to fight gone, I rushed forward, running as fast as I could away from the camp.

I ran into the forest, my attention at full alert, as I could only see vague shadows of the trees. I moved as quickly as possible, avoiding the trees as much as I could with my injured legs. I could still hear the sound of chaos behind me as I ran forward.

I didn't stop running, not even as the sounds of the bandit camp faded away. I could not be found again, I couldn't be trapped by the bandits, I told myself as my legs were about to quit. I couldn't stop, not before I found shelter miles away from the Branwen Tribe. I was thankful that my eyes began to adjust to the dark forest, letting me dodge the trees with ease.

Soon the running became more of an instinct than a conscious thought, as running and dodging became second nature. I had found my stride, even with my damaged feet, feeling the air leave my chest in painful but controlled bursts. Feeling my arms tire, I put my swords back in it's sheath, feeling no need for it assistance in running.

After that, everything seemed to blur together for me, as I just kept running. Nothing reached my ears but the sound of my heartbeat, and the footfalls of my feet hitting the ground.

How far I had run didn't matter, I just knew I had to get somewhere that none of the bandits could find me. When I felt safe, maybe I could finally stop and rest, but until the-

My surroundings changed in a sudden twist, as everything was suddenly upside down. My foot stung more than usual, and my breath was caught in my throat.

Before I knew it, I was falling down a sheer drop, twisting and turning in the air as I did so. I couldn't tell which way was up or down, or how long it would take to hit the ground. I caught glimpses of the world as it spun, as the star and the ground seemed to blend together.

The spinning stopped though, as I felt my back slam against something cold. I felt a sting across my back, as the cold surrounded me, making it impossible to breath.

I only realized a second later that I was underwater, and already had sunk down a good few feet. My waterlogged clothes, my sword and sheath, all were dragging me down into the cold depths.

My eyes, still open under the water, could see the surface, though it was blurry and hurt to keep them open. I began to swim up, trying to get some fresh air for my tired and burning lungs.

But my legs wouldn't move, too tired from the long run to even so much as twitch. I felt my heart lurch at that realization, as I used my arm to try and lift me out of the endless expanse of water beneath me. Yet, all that did was keep me there, only making me float up centimeter by centimeter. I even tried to use my broken arm, but the pain only me want to gasp.

That horrible feeling of dread spread throughout my body, as I tried to force my legs to move. But no matter what I tried, my legs wouldn't move, not even to save life. They were just too used up to even budge an inch.

I tried to access my items, summon my Zora Armor, anything to help me escape or breathe in this watery grave. Yet, my items were still lost to me, nothing more than a tangled mess in my storage.

My body demanded I let go of the air in my lungs, but I knew I was doomed the moment I did. Without any air, I would simply sink to the bottom faster, and just d-

I couldn't think about that!

I swam faster, moving my arms and legs as fast as I could. Yet, no matter what I did, the surface of the water seemed too far.

I shut my eyes, hoping it would help to not think about the distance from the surface. Again, I tried to move my legs, but they wouldn't move!

I looked down at them, hoping there was some kind of answer for why they wouldn't move.

Only to be met with six pairs of red eyes.

My eyes widened as I gasped, air escaping my lungs before I had a chance to stop myself. After that, I only sunk faster, right into the arm of the six demons below me. They were too blurry to see, but their eyes were always present, as if taunting me in my time of need.

I glared at what were no doubt ugly creatures, as I stopped swimming altogether. I could see their eyes widen in anticipation, their grubby fingers digging into the leather of my boots.

That was before I grabbed my sword and unsheathed it's blade.

Instantly, the demons recoiled in horror, as their dark forms burned from the holy power of my sword. I could see their skin turn white a dissapear, before they all swam away, leaving me to swim back to the surface.

But, it was already too late…

My body no longer had any air to use, and couldn't move an inch. My body was already sinking to the bottom, as through blurry eyes, I could see the bones of others like me. Face down in the sludge of the bottom of the lake, my life seemed to flash before my eyes, as if desperate to find some way out.

Without any energy, my body was forced to breath in water, as I finally started to drown. My lungs burn in a horrible and unfamiliar pain, not designed to have water in them. My eyes dulled, as I felt death inch closer and closer, as my cheek feel to the sludge at the bottom of the lake...

As the angel of death wrapped their arms around me, and pulled me up.

* * *

"C'mon, c'mon! Wake up!"

I felt my sternum fracture from the force of someone pushing down on my chest, as my broken ribs started to ache in pain.

"Carol, enough! Don't you see the state he's in? He was dead long before he drowned."

"You don't know that!"

There was another push, as my throat seemed to fill with water. I tried to breath, but my body wouldn't let me, as too much water was in my lungs.

Someone pressed their lips to mine, forcing air in my lungs and pushing down the water with it.

"For god's sake, he's got a bullet hole in his chest Carol! He was dead the moment he hit the water! Now, stop before you attract Gri-!"

I heard the sound of someone hitting the ground, as someone kept pressing down on my ribs. That was the final push I needed though, as all of the water was forever out of my lungs.

I coughed up all the water as I took gasps of air, feeling the warm liquid splash into my face. I rolled to my left, coughing between breaths, spitting up the rest of the water in my lungs.

"H-he's alive…"

I took deep breaths, ignoring the absolute torture that came with the. I could only groan due to the horrible feeling, but didn't refuse to let my body take the gracious gift of air.

"G-get the car ready, we need to get him to a hospital!

"Carol, we can't! You're already in too much de-"

"Than we'll take him home!"

"...Fine, but he's your problem, got it!"

"Yes, fine, just go!"

My breathing finally relax, as I felt the grip of my sword tightened. I could feel every cell in body ache, glad to finally have air to function. I opened my eyes, as the shattered moon of this world shine overhead.

Revealing a woman in front of, watching over me, and making sure I was okay.

"You're gonna be fine," She told me, as I was left stunned by her appearance in front of me. A feeling welled up inside of me, as I could only look at her in shock. "I'll take care of everything. Just rest."

"M-m…" I tried to speak, as I could stare at her, my mind escaping me as I did. I could feel my consciousness slipping, as I tried to hang on, to see whether or not I was right.

"Don't talk," She said, looking over her shoulder, as if looking for something important. "You need your energy."

But I ignored that, as I kept trying to speak. I needed to know if she was real. I needed to know why this person reminded me of...

"M-Marin?"

Someone I shouldn't know.

Yet, before I could get my answer, for the third day in a row, I blacked out. My mind filled with more questions than answers.

* * *

**_"Look at my eyes, Faye. One of them is fake because I lost it in an accident. Since then, I've been seeing the past in one eye and the present in another. So, I thought I could only see patches of reality, never the whole picture._**

**_I felt like I was watching a dream I could never wake up from. Before I knew it, the dream was over." ~ Spike Spiegel: Cowboy Bebop_**

**_See ya, Space Cowboy!_**

* * *

**_Next Time on "A Hero's Dream"!_**

**_"A Princess With no Hero"!_**


	5. A Princess with no Hero

_**Hello, once again, to another chapter of…**_

_**A Hero's Dream!**_

_**I know many of you have been waiting for this new chapter, so let's get right to the reviews, and then to the story.**_

_**And before we begin, let it all be known, **__**THIS IS NOT A HAREM FIC.**_ _**As Darkmist111 put it, Link is a one Princess guy. I just wanted to touch on how the older Links memory's were affecting our Hero's memory. The Marin look-alike would reveal in future chapters that she is actually in her thirties, and is both married and has a kid, even if she looks alot like our favorite Link's Awakening character. **_

_**So worry not, for Zelink lives on!**_

**Darkmist111: **_**Indeed, much like the stealth sections within SS and WW, Link will escape any cage he is put in. And who knows, maybe there will be ther reincarnated NPC's, or at least some that remind Link of older memories.**_

**VocaloidBrony: **_**Yep, Coby helped Link escape from his cage, and our Hero seems to have connected with his past lives in the wake of his traumatic realization. I hope you like this new chapter!**_

**Inheritance1990: **_**Well then, if you're interested in where this is going, here is another chapter to satiate your thirst.**_

**Zeldawolffang: **_**Yeah… I really broke our Hero, huh?**_

**Ahron756: **_**If you are excited by her using a rapier, then I think this chapter is for you!**_

**Thekingsfun: **_**The reason I'm making this darker than Skyward Remnants is because I hate it when people underplay the whole "I'm in a whole new world" fact. But you shouldn't worry. When I cement how they feel about being in a new world, the moments should get lighter.**_

_**Alexkellar: Don't worry about my art, you're popular enough that I know you are just swamped with requests. Besides, it'll give me more time to create even better moments for you to draw! Thank you for the advertising as well! **_

_**Anyway, the topic of Aura will likely not be brought up. Although Aura is important in RWBY, I want to illustrate how strong Link is even without it, and how he can overcome the obstacles of what pretty much amounts to 'people with superpowers'. It's why I put him through a lot of abuse in the beginning of his journey, to show the readers that he really can hold his own, even without all of his advantages. Hope you enjoy this new chapter. **_

_**P.S. Love your "Fate's Day" drawing!**_

**Treant Balewood: **_**No problem, love the name by the way.**_

**WolfyFenri: **_**Thanks for the compliments on my story, and you don't have to worry about Polygamy. This is a new Link, who is starting to meld with the other Links, though it will take some time. Hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

**Dracus6: **_**Though I like the idea, I'm not a big Sword Art Online fan, and I don't even know the first thing about Konno Yuuki. Besides, if I were going to do a Rising of the Shield Hero crossover, it would be one with a certain Jolly Green Giant inspired by one Dr. Jackal & Mr. Hyde.**_

**Sparky Boi: **_**I've been focusing on creating the bedrock for this fic rather than The Stars of Remnant, but I'll get to it eventually.**_

**Snoogenz: **_**Thanks for the follow dude! Hopefully with this new chapter I'll get more reviews and follows.**_

**Lokyloco: **_**Yeah, a rough start indeed, even if that is putting it lightly. Luckily, our hero will get some time to rest, as we see how our favorite princess is doing.**_

**MutantMiner300: **_**Then you're in luck friend, cause I have a new chapter right here!**_

_**Loading File.**_

_**.**_

_**. .**_

_**. . .**_

_**.**_

_**. .**_

_**. . .**_

_**. **_

_**File Loaded.**_

_**Continue?**_

—_**[Yes]**_

_**No**_

_**Loading….**_

…_**. **_

…_**.**_

…

_**File Loaded.**_

…

…

_**...**_

_**Error! Requirements not met. **_

_**Storyline Locked.**_

_**...**_

_**Loading….**_

…

_**..**_

_**.**_

_**...**_

_**New Storyline Available!**_

_**Link**_

—_** [?]**_

_**Start A New File?**_

—_** [Yes]**_

_**No**_

* * *

_**Chapter 4: A Princess with no Hero**_

_It was bright, practically blinding me with all the rays coming down from the sun. _

_I looked upon the fields of Hyrule, watching as the rolling grass was moved with the smallest of breezes. I watched as the wild horses, animals, and even children ran amok, playing games and enjoying their time under such a bright sun. _

_I was one of those children._

_I had a hand over my eyes, searching for the one who had challenged me to this simple, but enjoyable game of hide and seek. I looked to my left, spotting a tree and a rock he could be hiding behind, but knew it was too easy of a place for him. I looked to the right, seeing a field of tall grass, and an even taller tree, but shook my head._

_These were all too simple for him. He was always trying to challenge me, help me grow as a person. But, the one thing that was always related to every place he lever hid…_

_I looked up the taller tree, seeing the shape of someone within the tallest branches._

_He would always be able to hear me if I ever needed help._

_I ran towards the tree with a smile, turning my back on Hyrule Field to run towards the tree. With every step I took, I could see him clearer in the tree, as an idea came to mind._

_I walked through the tall fields of grass, sneaking up on the boy, ready to climb the tree and surprise him. The look on his face when I did..._

_I could hardly contain my own laughter at just the image, as I tried to be as silent as possible. Though it would take longer to find and surprise him, I knew it would be worth the wait. The grass was easy to move through, as I made sure to keep the sight of the tree._

_It didn't take long to reach the base of the tree, though, as I reached up to grab the lowest tree branch. As I grabbed it, I pulled myself up, trying to be as quiet as possible. It was hard though, as the branches swayed with the breeze, and bent with the simplest pull. _

_Despite that, I succeeded in climbing the tree as quickly and quietly as possible. Though, a few scrapes marked my arms and legs, spilling my blood on the branches. Yet, despite that, I kept climbing up, as with every branch, my reach seemed to grow longer, and my arms stronger. But, even with the newfound strength, I had to be careful._

_Halfway up the tree, the branch I had stepped on snapped, as it was thinner and more brittle than all the others. I fell a few feet, as my back was scrapped, and my chin had a new wound. But, before I could fall, I reached out and grabbed a new branch._

_I panted, feeling the fear at the prospect of falling all the way down. But, as I mistakenly looked down from where I had climbed._

_I saw the path I had taken and felt pride in how far I have come, rather than how far I could fall. Seeing this, I looked forward, grabbing a branch with longer and stronger arms, with my legs supporting me better than they ever had. _

_I was close to him, close to the very top of the tree, ready to surprise him. He was looking out at the very fields where I had been previously as if searching for someone._

_No doubt, it was me, as he had always been protective of me. Even now, when he was in the highest place in Hyrule, where he may fall and perish, he looked out for me…_

_Only once branch away, I was ready to jump out and spook him, imagining the face he might make. _

_But, before I could jump at the opportunity…_

_The light that I had grown so used to began to fade._

_I looked around, confused at where the light had gone. Using the height of the tree to my advantage, I searched for the source of the disturbance._

_As I did, the tree I was in disappeared, as I suddenly appeared at the bottom of a hill. Dark clouds brewed just above me, as I saw a figure riding with them. Yet, at the very tip of the hill, someone stood with the light that I had already missed._

_It was him again, standing there, facing me but looking out from the top of the hill, _

_I raced up the hill, but a path towards him didn't exist. But, unable to miss such a chance to surprise him, to make him smile and laugh, I pushed through._

_I felt myself grow taller, as the path that was once barred now existed, filled with thorns and brambles. I could see him at the end of the path, thunder rumbling within the clouds above him, as he stood with a blank face._

_I hurried, trying to get to him before it was too late, as I ignored the sharp points of the brambles scraping my skin. Eventually, it began to rain, as the dirt became slick and hard to climb. My wet clothes pressed against me, as my wet hair smacked my eyes, and dripped shivering water down my back._

_Eventually, I found what could be shelter from the rain, which was dry, warm and safe within this storm. I kept a note of it, but moved forward, determined to bring him down with me where he could be safe._

_Where we could be safe together._

_Finally, I made it to the top of the hill where he was, as I could only smile again. Even through the wind and the storm, I was glad to see that he was ok, glad to see that he was safe._

_But, as I hugged him, embracing him with a shout of surprise…_

_He stayed still like a stone, as if he couldn't even react to my presence._

_I removed myself from the hug, looking him dead in the eye. But, these blue eyes held none of the life that I had come to know and cherish. They were dead, and staring down the hill, completely numb._

_It was horrible. Horrible to see him like this, numb to the rest of the world, and unable to move._

_I shook him, calling his name, trying to get him to react somehow. But, no matter what I did, whether I slapped him or even rubbed his eyes with my damp hands, he didn't move an inch. _

_No matter what I did, he wouldn't turn his gaze, unable to look away from the view that the hill had offered him._

_With no other choice, I turned around, trying to find what he was so fixated on._

_My eyes widened, as my knees gave out on the slick mud of the hill. I turned my head, trying to find something to distract myself from the sight. _

_From the corner of my eye, I saw exactly the thing I needed. Behind the both of us, a steep hill was the only thing that could be seen close by._

_But far, far in the distance, I could see a Kingdom. With four tall towers varying colors, surrounded by villages and cities, a black and golden lake, and only a few small separate masses of grey and black clouds within a sunny sky. _

_It was a wonderful sight, not unlike my own home. Just looking at it was enough for me to feel a sort of peace my Kingdom hasn't felt in over ten years. But, it wasn't enough to distract me of what I had seen…_

_I stood up, grabbing his shoulders to pull myself up, as he seemed to collapse under the weight of what he had seen and recognized. Now, he was the one that was on his knees, his very soul looking almost shattered at what he had seen._

_I grabbed his cheeks, pulling his eyes away from the scene behind me, as I tried to ignore the heat at my back. As I did, I noticed that the dark clouds from behind me began to bleed into the kingdom in front of me, absorbing the clouds in the sky. No… _

_Devouring, as if they were always a part of it._

"_It's not your fault!" I cried to him, trying to take away the sight of such an unforgiving view from his mind. But, even as I look back, I could see every vivid detail, as it only grew worse and worse the more he imagined it. "You didn't do this!"_

_The wind began to pick up, as the four towers in the kingdom before me began to dim and crumble. The earth seemed to shake, as a golden bolt of lightning struck the earth, splitting it into an endless abyss. The two lakes disappeared completely, sinking into the endless abyss, losing any luster and beauty that they may have held._

"_It was a mistake!" I called over the wind roaring in both of our ears, as I tried to make him hear me. But his eyes didn't so much as twitch, as he could only stare off into space. "You didn't do this! You _couldn't _have done this! It was all _Him_!"_

_The wind picked up even more, as I could feel those gusts try to rip me away from him. Despite that, I still held on, trying to get him to listen, even as the scene of the Kingdom in front of me began to match what was happening behind me._

"_You need to wake up!" I told him, as I could barely hear the sound of my own voice over the gusts of wind. "You're the only one that can help me stop this! You're the only person that can fix everything! But to do that, you need to __**W**__a_k_**e**_ _u__**p**__!"_

_Finally, the wind was too strong, as nothing could resist the incredible gust._

_I was blown off the side of the hill, pushed into the steep, slick slope. My hands were ripped from his face, as the world seemed to spin. Yet, even still, I could see him do the same, as he began to fall down the hill as well, farther and farther away. _

_Suddenly, the support of the ground disappeared, along with any light that existed. Only two specks existed, me and him, as we both fell further and faster than ever, unable to resist the fall of gravity within this unending abyss. _

_He was so far, barely a firefly within the unending abyss, too far to see any of the details I wished to find. Was he awake, alive even? Could he possibly hear what I had to say from so far away?_

_Yet, even with the unending abyss before me, and the questions of his well being plaguing me, I could feel that it would end soon. That this would be the last time I may see him, until we found one another again._

_So, with the last of the air in the abyss, I shouted, trying to get him to get out of his daze. Hoping and wishing that he would hear me, I used the last of my energy to shout the only thing that could come to my mind…._

_As the end of this abyss approached us…_

"_**LINK! WAKE UP!"**_

_I somehow knew he finally turned his head, a light of recognition in his eye…_

_Before the bottom of the tree was right in front of my eyes, and I-_

* * *

Awoke with a start, covered in sweat and gasping for any breath of air I could take.

I looked around, panic and dazed, as I tried to figure out where I was. It wasn't so simple though, as I was surrounded by a dark forest, filled with trees. Even when I looked to the sky, all I could see was the dark sky and the canopy of leaves above.

With no way to locate where I was, the pure panic I felt from my dream was starting to become worse. I gasped for air, as my heart kept beating faster, desperately trying to fill my body with enough oxygen to run.

Then, like the flick of a torchlight, I remembered what exactly happened in that dream.

"Link…" I breathed out, as my heart seemed to stop in my chest. "Link?!" I called out, searching the strange woods, as I tried to stand myself up.

But, my legs gave out before that could happen, as my head and leg throbbed in dull pain. My stomach rumbled, as it cried out to be filled by something, and lips were cracked by a need for water. Despite that, I continued to call out to my green friend, hoping that he was alright.

"Link!?" I cried out, as I tried to look around and find something to support me as I attempted to stand. Of course, there was nothing but trees and grass surrounding me, leaving me with nothing to support myself.

With no other way, I let my thoughts run smoothly, trying not to focus on my worries and fears. With my mind as calm as it could be at the moment, I focused on my injuries, trying to heal them enough so that I could move.

But it was hopeless. My mind was too distracted, as I could only imagine Link somewhere close by, dying within these very woods. The image of Ganondorf holding his limp lifeless body, just like the numb version that I saw in my dream. It was-

I pressed my hand against my injured thigh, letting the pain run through me and help focus on the now. I steadied my breathing, letting the movement of my chest calm my racing heart.

Link didn't need a Princess who could barely focus because of a silly dream! He needed a healer, someone who can fix him up after the fight with Ganondorf!

With my mind focused on what I wanted to do, I went back to the injury on my leg. With everything focused, I let the energy that the Golden Goddesses used to shape the world run through me, as I enriched the energy with my very own soul. With that power circling inside me, I transformed that power into magic, feeling the magic drain from within me.

Then, I focused this power within my hand, letting it emanate a healing glow that shone down on my leg. It took less than a second for all of this to happen, as I felt the warmth of the golden glow surround my leg. I could feel the energy quickly begin to heal my leg.

However, I stopped it halfway, as I could feel my energy begin to dip from using my healing spell. It seems that my exhaustion went further than just my body. Luckily, the healing went well enough to let the pain in my leg become all but gone.

With the pain in my leg gone, my breath and heart rate begins to slow down, I considered my situation.

I was in a strange place, injured, and lack both the energy and magic to defend myself effectively. I needed food, water, shelter to rest, and I need to find out where I am. But, most importantly, I needed to find Link.

Despite my best wishes, I focused my mind back on the dream I had just had.

That dream… it was too lucid not to consider it as some sort of warning. I've had prophetic dreams before, some vague, and some too downright insane to understand until they happened. Yet, the need to understand flowed through me, as millions of questions began rolling around in my mind.

Why was Link in such a state? What were those powerful winds and the constant black clouds above me? What was that kingdom in the distance, and those strange clouds, being swallowed whole by the storm? What was Link looking at, that I was so horrified by, even when I can't remember what it was? Why were Link and I falling into that abyss?

It was all too many questions to ask, and shouldn't be asking in the state I was in currently. Even now, I could feel my questions already exhaust my body with the lack of energy I had.

And, if Link really was in some sort of danger…

I didn't want to think about what could possibly threaten Link. But, if it really was that big of a problem…

Then I needed to find him.

But, If I wanted to even start with locating him, I needed to know what I had.

I sat myself up, being careful not to waste any of my dwindling energy. I would need all of it if I were to begin my search for Link.

I reached into a bag at my side, filled with dried bread and meat. The bag Link had filled with all of the provisions for me so that I would have it if needed. I pulled out one of the rolls and a strip of meat, trying to ignore how stale and dry it all looked. So, I at least had some food...

I checked the strap across my shoulder, finding a canteen hanging from a clip attached to the leather strap. I shook the closed canteen, measuring how much water I had based on the water's weight and movement. It wasn't much, maybe one-third of the canteen was actually filled.

I took a sip of water from the canteen, wetting my mouth enough to at least swallow all the food that I had with me. Then, when I could actually feel my tongue, I took a large bite of the meat and bread. The tough meat and stale bread were difficult to chew and was not the tastiest meal I have ever had. Despite that, I kept eating, trying to restore any energy that I could get.

It took about five minutes to eat the bread and meat, with sips of water having to be drunk every other bite due to how dry it was. I felt the pleasant weight in my stomach and thanked the Goddess Faore for the meal.

With my meal down, I let my energy gather itself, as I took a look at the rest of my supplies. Checking the other pouch I had, I found some medical supplies and even camping equipment. Though it was nowhere near as much as Link's supplies, I still had enough to help me survive for at least three nights without hunting. Though, I may be able to find some edible fruits and berries I could eat, though that was unlikely.

But the most important of all of my equipment was on my back and hip. Namely, my weapons.

I unstrapped the leather and steel quiver from my back, finding that the once full 50 arrow quiver was almost empty. All that remained inside of the large carrier was 12 arrows, and with my bow broken…

I grabbed the medical stitches from my medical pouch, before taking out the arrows one by one. When I was safely able to hold all of them in a bundle from the center of the arrow, I wrapped them up, before tying them in a knot. Now, even if I couldn't use a bow, I could at least hold something within the quiver, such as wood if need be.

With that said, I placed the stitches back into the bag, pulling out the medical wrap. Grabbing the edge of the bandage, I tucked half of it under my belt, before pulling out enough to wrap around the entire bundle of arrows. Making sure it was tight and secure, I now had extra space if I ever needed it.

On my left hip, where both of my scabbards were, I pulled out my first weapon.

The sound of metal scratching against the edge of the scabbard filled my ears, as I looked upon my rapier. The thin, but tempered blade was sharp enough to pierce any armor, and seemed to gleam, even in the low light of night. The blade itself was long and light, following the simplest of movements with ease. The handle itself was gilded steel, along with the crossguard that curved up into the sword and knuckle guard, wrapped in purple leather.

It was a wonderful weapon, crafted for me to wield by the blacksmiths of Hyrule when I was nineteen. It was to be a birthday from the greatest smithy of Hyrule to me, and I have never let it leave my sight in over two years. Though, quite frankly, I was never as skilled as I had hoped to be, and was nowhere near Links skill. Though, I have fought and killed quite a many demons with it, all in the name of my stolen kingdom.

I studied the weapon, making sure nothing was damaged on my blade, before placing it back in its sheath. With the blade back within its sheath, I brought my hand lower, grabbing the weapon just under my rapier.

Namely, a double-edged knife with my name, '_Zelda Harkinian Hyrule', _inscribed upon its guard in cursive. A gift from Impa after she figured out that I would be journeying with Link to help him on his quest. Its design was simple, with a gilded guard and pommel, and a purple spiral leather handle. The blade itself was only five inches long and was sharpened to a razor edge.

This blade was also in good condition, so I placed it back in its sheath. With all of my weapons checked, and in prime condition, I attempted to stand up once again.

Unlike the first time though, this was a success, as I felt my legs were able to hold my weight. They were still a bit shaken though, as not all of my energy could be restored in a few minutes. Still, I thanked the Goddesses and began to search for Link within this forest.

However, that was easier said than done.

In the time I had taken to search for the Knight in Green, I could tell something was… different.

Link and I had traveled all over Hyrule, through the deepest depths of Lake Hylia to the highest peaks of Death Mountain. Yet, walking through these woods, even with the lack of energy I had, I knew this wasn't part of my Kingdom. The trees here didn't give off the ancient, living feel they did within the forests of Hyrule. The wind was too chilly for what was supposed to be the summer, as I felt goosebumps climb up my exposed arms. And finally…

I looked around, focusing on the leaves within the forest. Specifically, many of the various colored leaves on the trees, and the many dead ones on the grass. They rustled in the cold night air and detached from their branches over the simplest of breezes.

This certainly wasn't the Kokiri Forest, the only forest large enough in Hyrule to create such a large canopy of leaves above me for miles. The only forest in the world capable of being forever green, despite the changing seasons, thanks to the Blessings of Farore, and the Great Deku Tree.

It was impossible for that forest to have even a single decaying leaf! Only when the Deku Tree had died centuries ago, when the brave Hero of Time had attempted to save him, had the Kokiri forest fallen into a decaying state.

Even if I ignored the leaves, this forest was nowhere near as teeming with life as the Kokiri Forest. In fact, in the half an hour I've been searching for Link, I had yet to see a single animal. Which would be impossible if I really was in the Kokiri Forest, as simply entering that Forest was instantly accompanied by the song of thousands of birds.

With that in mind, it was easy to figure out that I had to be in a completely different kingdom from my own. The question was, how?

If they had been teleported by Ganondorf's magic, wouldn't he and Link have been there with me? Even if the King of Evil had died, there should still have been a corpse lying next to me. I was sure Link had stabbed him at the very last minute, before everything became a glowing white mess.

But, no matter how hard I searched, it seemed as if they were nowhere close by.

Though, Ganondorf's technique was quite different from the way all three of us had teleported. His way of teleporting was through the use of the Black Magic, letting him teleport anywhere freely, with a hefty cost in magic power.

The magic that was used though… It was unlike anything I had ever witnessed. I had studied Magic for years, but never have I read of teleportation that made you feel… as if your body didn't exist in that world.

But, there was one thing that could do such a thing. One Magic device of incredible power that could pull off miracles, that all three of them happened to have.

I looked down at the back of my right hand, as my eyes instantly stared at the very obvious mark upon it. A mark of three triangles of equal size, with two as the base, and one on top, with a hole in the center in the shape of an upside-down triangle. The symbol of my people, who had been worshipping the owners of this power since time began. The symbol of the Three Golden Goddesses, Din, Nayru, and Farore.

The Triforce.

I continued to stare at the birthmark on my hand, trying to figure out what it had to do with my situation. Though, it wasn't that hard to figure out.

Ganondorf had us in his grasp, and along with it, all three of the Triforce Pieces. His Triforce of Power, my Triforce of Wisdom, and Link's Triforce of Courage. Each, on its own, capable of giving gifts to their wielders from the very Goddesses. But together…

They were capable of changing reality, to grant the user any wish of their desire.

So, the question was not how it was done, rather, it was _what _was done that I needed to know. Ganondorf had us in his grasp for a while, and any of our words could have been the wish.

I tried to think back on what was said, what words could've translated into a wish of taking them out of the country. But, the harder I tried to think, the more the bruises on my head seemed to throb just as hard.

I couldn't remember what was said, or who said what. The words were simply a blur, no doubt brought upon by Ganondorf swinging me around with enough to block most of Links attacks. Not to mention the incredibly powerful grip he had on my skull, cutting off a lot of circulation to my brain.

By that point I decided to stop trying to figure out what the wish could have been, I had already searched for Link for over an hour. With such pain accompanying me every time I tried to think back, I decided to take a new course of action.

So, with the canopy of leaves obstructing my view, I searched for the thickest tree I could find. Though it wasn't a perfect gauge of the tallest tree in the area, it was the best I had. Worse, I needed to find one soon. With the lack of energy, as well as magic, I was basically a sitting duck for any Demons that may choose to come out for my head.

With that in mind, I took out my knife, feeling the light and familiar weight sit in my hand with ease. It was the easiest to hold of my weapons, so I could keep it in my hands for hours without my arm tiring. Though it was mostly for immediate emergency defense, rather than attacking, it should give me enough time to draw my rapier.

It didn't take long to find an appropriate tree, just long enough to realize how tired my legs were with all of the walking. Perhaps it would've been wiser to have done this immediately, but I didn't regret the search for Link. Even if it did prove rather fruitless, in the end.

I shook my head, turning to focus on my path up the tree, rather than Link's current whereabouts. This would be the first step to a wider search, rather than just aimlessly wandering around, hoping for the best.

If I could make it to a Castle, or even a small town, I could spread the news of my whereabouts. This would not only help Link know that I was safe and quickly return to Hyrule, I could also get the closest kingdom to send me back home.

Hyrule, without the fear of Ganondorf overhead, would no doubt pay a hefty sum for me alive and well. Any Kingdom who knew of Hyrule, the land blessed by the Goddesses themselves, would be foolish to turn down such an offer. Especially with the Hero who defeated Ganondorf, who was capable of defeating armies with a flex of his arm, supporting me.

So, even if I couldn't find Link now, I could get myself to Hyrule, grab my guards and start a search. Though a part of my heart sunk at the thought of leaving Link somewhere in the middle of the woods. the rational part of me knew he was fine. I mean, it was Link! He had two blue potions on him, and a red potion on top of that, he would be fine. As soon as he healed himself, and heard that I was safe and sound, we'd be back together again before the sun even rose.

But first, I needed to be sure this Kingdom even existed, before I tried to make such plans.

However, that would have to wait, as I could only frown at my path up the tree. Or, more accurately, a lack of path.

No matter where I looked, be it on the tree itself, or it's siblings at its side, the closest branch was over 30 feet above me. Not only that, the tree was too thick and smooth to climb up any other way, leaving me barely any options. Even the neighboring trees were like this, far too high to climb up normally.

I sighed, looking up at the branches with a small frown, thinking about how simple this would be if I had a Hookshot like Link. Instead, I had to do this the hard way, and waste even more energy. Still, even with the greater use of energy, it was the fastest way to continue my search.

Looking for the closest tree branch, I moved back, focusing on the path I would have to take. With all of that in mind, I braced my legs, feeling my right thigh ache in it's bruised state, and simply ignored it. Then, before my body had a chance to tell me this was a bad idea, I dashed towards the tree.

I felt my leg with every other step, wincing as the pain rushed through my body. Despite this pain, I continued forward, needing to reach a certain speed before I hit the tree. Though my dress made it much harder to run at this speed, I kept moving faster and faster, feeling the ends drag behind me and slap against my ankles. The moment I had reached the appropriate speed, the tree was only a few feet in front of me, as I was about to crash into it.

Of course, I had more skill than that.

Before I could crash into the tree, I stepped on one of its roots, putting all of my strength in my next step. With that complete, I had jumped what must've been at least five feet in the air. It didn't stop there though, as despite not having anymore ground, I kept running.

My feet met with the bark of the tree, as I pushed off as hard as I could, reaching higher and higher. Each step helped me move higher and higher, all while stripping the bark off the tree as I moved. By the time I had lost the momentum from my run, I was another 15 feet of the ground, and nowhere near done.

Before I could fall down, I kicked off of the tree as hard as my legs would allow, as I felt myself soar through the air. I looked down, seeing for myself the 20 feet I had just climbed in a matter of seconds. As the world turned though, I could see my goal, still ten feet out of reach, even after all of that work.

So, before gravity could stop me, I felt myself flip back right side up, my feet facing the earth. I looked to my left and right, finding the closest tree while bracing my body to crash into the tree I was heading to. I found exactly the path I would need to head towards to the right, another tree just close enough to head up higher and higher.

With my destination in mind, as soon as I landed on the trunk, I jumped to the other tree with enough force to propel me a few feet up along the way. As soon as I landed on the side of the other tree, I kicked off of it, jumping back to the tree I had originally launched from.

I did this a few more times, gaining more and more height with every leap. By the time the trees weren't barren enough to simply leap off their trunks, I was ready for the final step.

With one final leap, I outstretched my hands, grabbing on to the sturdiest branch, swinging my legs as soon as I had grabbed on. Before the branch could even bend due to my weight, I was already flipping through the air…

Before my feet landed perfectly on the lowest branch of the tree I had aimed to climb.

I gave a sigh of relief, as my heart beat faster than a dragonfly's wing, and my lungs greedily stole the air they so desperately needed. I winced, feeling my leg ache in pain, as I felt my own heartbeat within the wounded limb. I grabbed on to the base of the tree, balancing myself as I took all the air I needed.

'_Thank you Impa,' _I thought to myself, as I looked down at the ground, solidifying what would have been impossible two years ago. '_Your Sheikah training was hell, but it has truly been helpful.'_

With that thought, and my breathing back under control, I began the long trek upwards, hoping that the vantage point I was going to find was enough.

Climbing was easy enough, especially compared to what I had to do to get up here. The limbs of the tree were close enough that I didn't have to do anything fancy to climb them, and they certainly weren't weak. Though my dress did get caught in some of the smaller branches, forcing me to reach down and either snap or get my dress unstuck.

'_If this thing wasn't so useful, I would have stopped wearing it a long time ago.' _I thought to myself, as I climbed up, looking down at what I was wearing as I did.

The dress itself was beautiful and a deep rose purple near the hem which reached down to my ankles, with a set of complicated gold stitches to accent the darker purple color. As my gaze moved up the dress, the shade slowly transformed into a petal purple, before reaching a belt around my waist. Further up, the dress didn't change color, keeping itself up using the straps that rested on my shoulders. That wasn't it though, as I had an amethyst colored bodice covering most of my chest, and a large golden colored necklace over it, with two similar colored pauldrons on my shoulders. I also had gold colored braces covering my forearms for when I had to fire my bow, a circlet with a brilliant red jewel on its front, and Triforce shaped earrings hanging from my ears. Even still, that was not the last detail to the dress I wore, as connected by two tear shaped gold ornaments was what could only be described as a gold and total purple tapestry, inscribed with the two sacred symbols of my people. The triforce at the top, and a symbol of a bird at the bottom for the Loftwings that were once our long time companions.

Luckily, other than the circlet on my head, none of it was _actually_ gold. Otherwise, they would be weighing too much on me, forcing my speed in battle to go down and wasting my stamina trying to move as fast as I usually do.

Thankfully, the dress wasn't just a dress, otherwise it would have been too much of a hassle to ever use in battle.

That, however, would have to wait as my head finally poked out of the tops of the trees, getting my first clear view of this new land. Though, the view itself wasn't anything impressive, as it seemed to be the middle of the night. There was nothing to see really, just the tops of some trees an-

As I climbed further up, brilliantly shining lights shone through the dark, like a star resting on the land. I turned my head, wondering what in Hyrule could create such a light. My ascent upwards was filled with haste, as my curiosity only grew by the second.

What was this light?

Reaching the highest branch that could support my weight, I looked out at the light, seeing the night sky reflected on the ground. Millions of yellow stars shining through the night, encased inside of a wall as if to be held in, and protected.

It took me a while to figure out that these weren't stars, as I was too transfixed by the sight to think of much else. The brightest lights I had ever seen at night were only ever the stars themselves, and the glowing red top of Death Mountain. Yet, after the beauty of what was there passed, and I looked closer with a more curious eye…

It seemed to be a city.

"Perfect." I said to myself with a small smile, as everything seemed to be lining up. "Now all that's left is to find the man on top. Though… I may have to wait till morning before I can get in the city."

Knowing the protocols for Castle Town, they likely seal any gates to keep any Demons out of their city. Though that begged the question…

How long would I have to wait to get inside? In fact, what time was it now?

I took a quick glance at the sky, hoping I could calculate the time of night with how high the moon was in its orbit. Hopefully it wouldn't be too long, as I really didn't want to have to sleep in a tr-

Yet, the time, the plan, the city, even my search for Link left my mind at that moment…

As I remembered Ganondorf's wish, staring at the shattered moon that hung in the sky.

* * *

This was bad.

I hadn't moved one inch, simply staring up at the shattered celestial body with eyes wide, and my mind racing. Thousands of scenarios played out in my head, all of them finishing with the same horrible end.

The destruction of Hyrule. The end of my home.

It was enough to turn my stomach inside-out, and my legs to shake. Fearing my fall off of the tree, I sat down, trying my best to ensure my stability.

If not for my Sheikah training, that would've been an impossible task, as every inch of me began to shake like a leaf.

So many things were happening to me at once. My body shook with fear, my stomach was heavy with dread, my breathing was too fast, as I began hyperventilating. I rested my head back against the tree, as my eyes tried to avoid the sight of the moon. That didn't help though, as the sky seemed to come crashing down on me, further increasing the pressure I felt.

I wanted to get down, to not be forced to look at this shattered moon hanging in the sky. Yet, looking down only caused my vision to spin, making me too worried to even make a move.

So I closed my eyes, not looking at either the ground or the sky.

And here I've been for who knows how long, trying to get my breathing under control, my mind racing with horrible images. Yet, it didn't work. Forcing my breath to calm down only made it worse, as my brain instantly went to the story of the 'The New Hero of Hyrule', and his adventure through the kingdom of Lorule…

And what happened to their world, without the Triforce.

It was a horrible image in my mind, one that couldn't be shaken free. Images of my kingdom crumbling away into unending pits, and the sky covered in unending black clouds. All as it slowly disappears into nothing, the work Link and I had done to save it a waste.

I cursed myself for this thought, as my breathing only became more rapid and uncontrollable. I almost felt like vomiting as these images came into my head.

I told myself to calm down, that this wasn't helping the people I had sworn to protect. Yet what was there to do but panic? What could I do to completely save my kingdom from becoming a bottomless pit?

So, instead of trying to calm down…

I began to make a plan.

Hyrule could still be saved, just as the New Hero of Hyrule and the Princess of that time had saved Lorule. Simply returning the Triforce to the land would fix every problem that could possibly occur, that much I knew.

The problem was this new world, and the wish that had been granted.

Ganondorf's wish was insane, but with the power of the Triforce it was no wonder that the wish came true. However, was this what The King of Evil truly wanted?

The Triforce was a divine object, one that would grant any who touch it a perfect wish. A wish that would be granted completely through both their words and heart. Even if one were to speak a completely alien language, so long as it was spoken and wanted, it would be granted exactly as they had wished.

Despite that, I was teleported to this new world with Link and Ganondorf following suit. Ganondorf's wish was granted, yet not in the way that he had wanted.

'_Why?'_ I asked myself, as my breathing calmed down, my mind distracted by this new problem. '_Why was the wish to change the world turned into a wish to leave that world behind? Why the only one to make a wis-' _

_But was he the only one to make a wish?_

My mind stopped as this new information came to, as if someone had lit a fire with a dark cave.

Ganondorf had made the wish, but he wasn't the only one with the Triforce… He had made the wish holding on to Link and I, who had heard this wish, and rejected it with all the power that we had. And through that rejection of the wish spoken, it became an imperfect wish.

It wasn't an insane theory, but it wasn't a theory backed up by any evidence either. No one in the history of Hyrule had tried to take their wish as someone else was making their own.

So, that question was solved, but so many followed suit. If the wish was imperfect, then were Link and the Triforce of Power even in the same world? If they were, then where are they? If they weren't, what was I going to do? What caused the moon of this world to be so completely shattered? And, one of the most important questions

If Ganondorf's wish had sent me here, where was the 'constant battle' mentioned in h-

My ears twitched at the sound of something coming towards me, ripping through the air as it did. I turned my head towards the sound, my body tensing, getting ready for the chance of combat.

I was too late though, as before I could ever see what hit me, I was falling off of the branch I was on, feeling the wind rush past, as many sensations were going through my head. Something attempted to pierce through my clothes and my stomach, as I could only gasp in pain as I felt the sharp beak.

It wasn't able to pierce them though, as the enchantment upon them activated, absorbing half of the damage. The dress itself didn't tear one bit, as not even the blade of a Darknut could cut this dress.

It did not, however, stop my fall.

I felt a branch impact my back, leaving a big bruise even as my dress absorbed half of the damage. I felt it bend and snap under me at the same moment my breath left my lungs in a forced gasp of pain. Before anymore damage could be done though, my mind focused and gave power to the proper Spell of my choice.

As soon as the spell was set, I stopped being a physical body and became one with the air around me. I was no longer falling, but I wasn't quite floating either…

I was simply the wind.

Then, in an instant, I moved through the air, unaffected by the world around me as I moved. Nothing could stop me as any object placed in my way was a pointless obstacle to be deterred by. The branches, the leaves, the very air around me seemed to open up, like a set of infinite doors was available for me to take.

And so, before anything could blink…

A green light flashed, as I pulled out my rapier, already fifty feet away from where I was on the solid earth, checking my surroundings. The green light from the spell _Farore's Wind _dissipated, having completed its task.

I looked up in an attempt to see what had struck me out of the tree, but stopped as soon as the canopy of leaves blocked my view. With a quick glance around, seeing red eyes within the dark shadows of the trees, I checked how much magic I had at the moment.

I was relieved that with the two hour rest at the top of the tree, my reserves were at half full. Meaning that, I had enough magic energy for a good number of spells.

And they would be put to use.

Before I could blink, what could only be described as white boulders seemed to come from the shadows of the trees. They were approaching fast, aiming straight for me, creating paths of upturned grass underneath them Beside them, wolves as tall as I was rushed up, careful not to crash and be crushed under the spinning boulders.

Knowing that whatever was rolling after me would likely crush me, and reacting as quickly as possible, I made a motion with my left hand and activated a different spell. I felt the energy pass through, like an unseen stream moving through my arms, and felt the spell activate. Before their eyes, appearing out of nowhere, fire sprung from my finger tip and began to create a wall in front of me. I watched as many of the demons, from the five Wolfos to the three boulders, seemed to flinch at the sudden appearance of fire.

The five Wolfos-like demons stopped mere inches from the fire, as I could smell the horrible stench of their hair burning in front of me. The boulders though, they rushed through it without a second thought, unable to stop in time. They too were burned, but rather than hair, it was their flesh that was seared through.

Seeing this, I casted another spell with another movement of my left hand, creating a clear blue wall of crystal in front of me, watching as the three boulders crashed into it as hard as they could. The sound of bone snapping ran throughout the forest, as what seemed to be a tusk snapped off of what I could now see as a demonic boar. The two other boars were stopped without much damage, though they were on their backs, their unarmored stomachs left open.

Without a second thought, the crystal wall pushed two of the boars forward, back into the fire where they burned, squealing in what could only be agonizing pain. Seeing no need for the two spells anymore, I deactivated them with nothing more than a thought, as both the crystal and fire wall disappeared in a matter of seconds.

Finally using the rapier in my right hand, I stabbed the boar right in the gut, before he could even move. As the boar cried out in pain, my rapier shined with a bright light, letting my blade cut even deeper inside of the boar's spin. As soon as this happened, the eyes of the demon went dim, as the body slowly began to disappear into ash.

Before I could even think, the five demon wolves were already running toward me, teeth bared and ready for the kill. I wouldn't let them though, as I turned to the first wolf in the line, his head only so far away from mine However, before the bite could even take place, I jumped onto the demon, stabbing the heel of my shoe into his eye as I did so.

The demon howled in pain, blinded by both pain and the rage that the creature no doubt felt towards me. So much so that it didn't even notice the new wall crystal wall that I placed in its path. The second snap of the night was heard, as the demon rushed headfirst into the wall, snapping its own neck and skull with a horrible crunch, before disappearing into ash.

The second wolf, shocked at its pack members gruesome death, slowed down in fear of meeting its own end in the exact same way. That was to my advantage though, as I landed on the creature's head while carefully avoiding the spikes on its back, slashing my Rapier into the back of its neck. Though unable to cut through the thick bone, I left a gash down the entirety of the right side of its necks, eventually draining the creature dry of it's blood.

Reacting to the incredible pain it must've felt, the creature bucked me off, sending me tumbling through the air as it did…

Into the claws of another demonic wolf, looking ready to swipe me in two with its large sharp claws. An attack that would never land, as the world once again transformed around me, letting me access wherever I needed to go and however I needed to. My sight changed from in front of the creature ready to be cut, to behind the creature ready to do the cutting. Using magic, I placed the power of light upon my blade, and gave a powerful cut to the back of the demon.

Normally, without any footing and only my arms to rely on, I would have been only able to the barest inch into it's skin. Yet, with the aid of my magic, the demon was instantly cut in half and turned to ash.

Still in the air, I fell to the ground, quickly looking around me for the rest of the demons.

The three Wolfos-Like demons were still standing, though the one I had cut into looked worse for wear. Strangely, no matter how hard I looked, the creature didn't seem to have a drop of blood coming from its neck. Did these demons have no blood? Even the Bokoblins had blood, and they were the weakest of Ganondorf's forces.

Though, different world, different enemies. Perhaps these creatures weren't even demons?

As I was thinking, trying to figure out what these creatures were, the two uninjured demons stalked around me. They looked me up and down, trying to find some kind of opening to attack me with. The injured one stayed in front of me, more weary then it's brothers were.

Keeping an eye on the two stalking around me, I pointed my rapier towards the one one my right, an open palm towards the other. The creature flinched when it saw my open palm, taking a step further back,while the other only growled harder at the sight of my rapier.

So they were intelligent enough to recognize what the true threat was… good to know.

A rustle in the leaves above me drew my attention, as something tried to move through the branches. Sensing my attention was elsewhere, the creature to my right rushed forward, preparing to bring me to the ground in an attempt to kill me.

In response, I rolled to the side as it attempted to crush me under its weight, as I lunged forward. As the creature hit the ground, I aimed for the space between it's ribs, striking many of it's important organs as I did.

The creature turned to dust around my blade, as I noted that organs still worked in killing them, even if they didn't bleed. With the turn of the heel, I was facing the other creature, as a new on came from the leaves above.

A bird as big as I was, black as night with white bone armor around it to protect against. It matched the other creatures in color scheme, and the others seemed to welcome the added reinforcements to their now small group.

But that didn't matter to me at the moment, as I simply glared at the newcomer…

The one who pushed me out of the tree, and into this fight.

Without so much as a twitch of a finger, I teleported in front of the uninjured creature and thrust my rapier into it's eye. Immediately, the eyes dimmed as the creature turned to dust, before set the other one on fire as an afterthought. The creature roared in pain, as both flesh and bone were seared to a crisp, before it met the same fate as its brothers.

If it were possible, I would've sworn that the bird demon had turned white with fright. It simply stayed there, shocked over how quickly the other two had been killed, and by how easily I had done so. I watched as it weighed it's options, trying to see if it could possibly survive fighting me.

It didn't like its odds, it seemed, as it turned and flew away, moving between the trees with a nimble grace that didn't match its size.

"Oh no you don't." I whispered in rage, looking for payback at it for bringing me into this battle, and for trying to stab me when I was off guard. Sheathing my rapier at my side, I gave a wide wave of my hand, as a ball of pure fire floated in front of me.

All before it started to float forward towards the cowardly bird, gaining speed at a rapid rate. My hand was outstretched in it's direction, guiding the ball of fire through the trees with a practiced grace.

Before the bird could get too far and into the sky, the fireball was already on its tail, ready to deal massive damage.

I felt the ball impact it's torso, as I released my hold over the magic…

As the bird was destroyed from the concussive blast of the magic, turning to ash in an instant.

As soon as the creature was destroyed, I released a breath, relaxing as the battle came to an end. I winced as well, as my leg throbbed in pain from all of the high speed movement that had just occurred.

Carefully moving so as to not aggravate the injury, I went to the tree and leaned against it, letting the leg relax. As it did, after checking that I still had enough magic, I began to heal the injury as best I could. Within a minute constant focus and magic, I could feel the injury completely disappear, letting me move as I pleased.

But, even after I was healed, there was still something weighing on my mind.

And that was the lack of knowledge of this new land.

Creatures that don't bleed? A moon that had been shattered? The possibility of no return to the land I called home? Too much was unknown, and being ignorant of the world was the first step to making a fatal mistake.

I needed information. Was Link here, and was he ok? Did this world have a way to move to other worlds? Did magic even exist in this world? What were the creatures that had attacked me?

Was the Triforce of Power loose in this world with Ganondorf dead?

I shuddered at the thought, as a new maybe even worse enemy with the Triforce of Power moved through my mind.

'_No!'_ I thought to myself, as I shook those thoughts out of my mind. '_I will not let this world suffer the same fate as mine did!'_

So, with this thought in my mind…

I turned toward the direction of the city I had seen in the trees, a new goal in mind. The only place I could get the information that I seeked.

I had to return home with Link. I had to return, before all I knew was destroyed by the hands of my enemy. And to do that…

I felt the determination glowing in my eyes, as my body began moving towards my destination.

… _I would face any danger in this unknown world._

* * *

_**"Before anything else, Preparation is the key to success."**_

_**\- Alexander Graham Bell**_

_**Next time on "A Hero's Dream'!**_

_**"Settling In"!**_


End file.
